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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alyssa Thomas recorded her 20th triple-double in the regular season, Kahleah Copper scored 21 points and the Phoenix Mercury edged the Los Angeles Sparks 86-82 on Wednesday afternoon.
Thomas, who also has six triple-doubles in the playoffs, finished with 19 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. She had assists on seven of the last eight baskets scored by the Mercury, who had 28 assists on 35 baskets. Her final one, to Monique Akoa Makani with 14 seconds left, sealed the win.
Akoa Makani had 14 points for the Mercury (10-18), who won their second straight after a six-game losing streak. Natasha Mack added 10. Phoenix was 12-of-18 shooting with 10 assists in the fourth quarter.
Rae Burrell had 20 points for the Sparks (10-16), who take a five-game losing streak into the All-Star break. Dearica Hamby had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but missed a tying layup with 19 seconds to go. Ariel Atkins added 15 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Ogwumike, with her ninth rebound of the game, passed Candace Parker (2,902) for second place on the Sparks’ career list behind Lisa Leslie. She finished with her 12th double-double of the season.
LYNX 86, STORM 76
SEATTLE (AP) — Napheesa Collier had 24 points and 10 rebounds in her season debut, Kayla McBride added 20 points and Minnesota headed into the WNBA All-Star break with the best record in the league after a win over Seattle.
Collier, who tore ligaments in her left ankle in a playoff game last September and had surgery on both ankles in the offseason, shot 9 for 20 with two 3-pointers in 24 minutes. The WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and runner-up in the MVP voting last season made three free throws after being fouled on a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out, just after Seattle had closed within 77-76 with 1:42 to play.
Collier then followed a Seattle miss with a turnaround jumper before the Lynx hit four more free throws to end the game on a 9-0 run.
Olivia Miles added 13 points and Natasha Howard had 11 for the Lynx (22-6). McBride came up just short of joining Diana Taurasi and A’ja Wilson with 23 points in eight straight games.
LIBERTY 95, SKY 94
NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu scored nine of her 29 points in the final minute, Jonquel Jones made the tiebreaking free throw with 3.4 seconds left and New York rallied to beat Chicago.
The Liberty erased a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes. They trailed 91-85 with less than a minute to play, before Ionescu hit a contested 3-pointer from the corner falling out of bounds, made another 3-pointer and then converted a three-point play with 15.1 seconds left to tie the game at 94.
Courtney Vandersloot fed Kamilla Cardoso on a pick-and-roll but Cardoso missed the layup and fouled Jones, who made one of the free throws.
Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Liberty (15-12). Jones added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Rebecca Allen scored 12 points. Ionescu was 8 of 11 from the field with five 3-pointers and 8 of 8 from the foul line.
Sydney Taylor had a career-high 31 points for the Sky (9-18). Vandersloot had 14 points and Cardoso scored 10.
MYSTICS 100, ACES 99
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shakira Austin scored 25 points, converting a three-point play after an offensive rebound with 12.8 seconds left, to lead Washington to a victory over Las Vegas.
Austin rebounded Sonia Citron’s miss on a driving layup to cap the Mystics’ rally from nine down with four minutes left. She had 11 points in the rally and Citron, who finished with 20 points, had four in the last minute.
Lauren Betts had 13 points off the bench for the Mystics (13-13), the lowest-scoring team in the league at 79.6 points a game. Kiki Iriafen added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Michaela Onyenwere and Georgia Amoore both had 10 points.
A’ja Wilson scored 38 points for the Aces (18-8), who go into the All-Star break two games behind league-leading Minnesota. Wilson was 12-of-16 shooting and made 12 of 13 free throws, but the miss came with 17 seconds left to open the door for Austin. Jackie Young had 24 points and Chelsea Gray 19.
The Aces led 87-78 midway through the fourth quarter but the Mystics were within 96-95 when Citron made a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left.
FEVER 123, SUN 88
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 11 assists, Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points and Indiana set a franchise record for points in a game with their victory over Connecticut.
Aliyah Boston scored 22 points for the Fever, who also had the biggest half in franchise history when they led 70-46 at the break. It was the third-highest scoring game in league history without overtime.
Monique Billings and Tyasha Harris both added 12 for Indiana (17-10), which has a three-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break.
The Fever made 11 of 22 3-pointers and shot 62% overall. Clark had five 3s and Mitchell three. Mitchell had at least 20 points and three 3-pointers for the 10th straight game.
Diamond Miller had 15 points for the Sun (7-20), who were without Aaliyah Edwards and Brittney Griner. Saniya Rivers scored 13 points, Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 11 and three players added 10.
