LOS ANGELES (AP) - Chelsea Gray scored a season-high 24 points and Candace Parker had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury 78-75 on Sunday.
Parker hit a free throw midway through the second quarter to become the 20th player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points.
Her jumper gave the Sparks (17-11) a 6-4 lead and they led the rest of the way. Her layup with four minutes left in the first half capped a 17-2 run and gave the Sparks a 17-point advantage and Nneka Ogwumike’s 3-pointer made it 45-30 early in the third quarter.
Diana Taurasi, who had four fouls in the first half, hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to ignite a 10-2 run that pulled the Mercury (16-13) within one when Briann January made a 3 with 8:29 to play and Leilani Mitchell’s 3-pointer trimmed their deficit to 74-72 with 1:21 remaining. Gray hit a jumper and, after DeWanna Bonner hit three free throws for Phoenix, added two free throws with 12 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Brittney Griner led the Mercury with 22 points. Bonner added 20 points and nine rebounds.
DREAM 86, LYNX 66
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Tiffany Hayes scored a season-high 28 points, hitting a career-best six 3-pointers, to help the Dream beat the Lynx.
Alex Bentley added 19 points and Angel McCoughtry had 11 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta (18-10).
McCoughtry hit a 3-pointer and Hayes added two more during a 16-1 run over the final four-plus minutes of the first half that made it 49-34 at the break. Sylvia Fowles scored the final six points in an 8-0 run that trimmed Minnesota’s deficit to 54-48 with 3:49 left in the third quarter, but Hayes answered with a 3 and the Lynx (15-13) got no closer.
Fowles led Minnesota with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus added 15 points apiece.
The Lynx have lost three games in a row.
Atlanta hit a season-high 12 3-pointers.
MYSTICS 76, WINGS 74
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Kristi Toliver hit a fade-away jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lift the Mystics to a win over the Wings.
Toliver led Washington (16-11) with 16 points, including eight in the final two minutes. LaToya Sanders added 15 points and Natasha Cloud scored 13. Elena Delle Donne, who came in fourth in the WNBA in scoring at 20.9 per game, finished with just five points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Liz Cambage made a layup to give Dallas (14-14) a six-point lead with two minutes to play. Toliver answered with a 3-pointer 13 seconds later and then hit another 3 to make it 74-all with 37.3 seconds left. Ariel Atkins stole a pass on the other end, setting up Toliver’s winner.
Kaela Davis missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the buzzer.
Cambage had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Kayla Thornton also scored 16 for the Wings. Glory Johnson added 10 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. All-star Skylar Diggins-Smith missed her second consecutive game after suffering a facial injury on July 31.
The Wings have lost five in a row.
SUN 109, ACES 88
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) - Jasmine Thomas scored a career-high 30 points, including five 3-pointers, to help the Sun cruise to a win over the Aces.
The game was the first for the Aces after they decided not to play in Washington on Friday night because of travel woes that took the team nearly 26 hours to get to D.C. That game was canceled and the teams are still waiting for the league to decide what to do with the game.
Connecticut set the franchise’s single-game record with 46 made field goals.
Chiney Ogwumike added 15 points while Betnijah Laney and Morgan Tuck scored 10 apiece for the Sun (16-12), who have won four in a row.
Thomas scored 20 points before Connecticut took a 64-49 lead into the break. The Sun set season highs for points, field goals (26) and field-goal percentage (68.4) in the first half. The Sun’s 64 first-half points set the franchise record for points in a half and their 109 total points were one shy of the team record.
A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas (12-15) with 24 points. Kelsey Plum scored 21, including a career-high tying five 3-pointers, and Kayla McBride added 17 points.
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