Phoenix Mercury rally late to hold off Minnesota Lynx, 112-105 – WNBA Recap
This is what momentum can do in basketball.
On Wednesday night, Phoenix Mercury did what most at Target Center thought was impossible. Mercury scored ten points in the last 45 seconds of the game to snatch victory from the jaws of imminent defeat against the Minnesota Lynx,
winning the game 112-105.
It was Phoenix’s fifth consecutive victory.
Lynx were the better team on the floor for 40 minutes and that much is for sure. They rebounded well, their ball movement was excellent and they contained everyone on the floor who was not named Penny Taylor.
They shot well too, hitting 53.4 percent of their shots including 51.9 percent from beyond the arc. To top it, Mercury also slipped in 20 of their 22 free throws.
Lynx, on the other hand, shot 48.8 from the field, 21.1 from three-point range and 70.8 percent from the line. They were crushed on fast break points with Phoenix scoring 23.
However, for all the things Lynx did right on the night, they could not do what mattered the most - contain Taylor in the clutch. Taylor erupted with 14 of her total 19 points in the fourth quarter and simply blew Lynx down the
stretch. Taylor also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out eight assists on the night.
Five players of both teams reached the double figures. Diana Taurasi once again led Mercury with a game-high 27 points, including five three’s and eight assists. DeWanna Bonner came off the bench with 24 points on a 7 for 9 shooting
from the floor, 3 for 5 from the 3-point range and 7 for 7 from the line.
Candice Dupree also ended with 19 points and eight rebounds while Kara Braxton scored 12 points and pulled down four rebounds for Phoenix, who have won nine of their previous 10 games.
Seimone Augustus headed Minnesota with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists. Lindsay Whalen had 19 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals while Rebekkah Brunson recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high16
rebounds. Maya Moore added 15 points and five rebounds while Candice Wiggins finished with 10 points for Phoenix, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
Phoenix scored first five points of the opening period and never trailed in the quarter, taking a 27-21 lead into the second.
In the second quarter, Minnesota converted their six point deficit into a six-point lead, 49-43, before Phoenix responded with a 5-0 run in the last 53 second of the quarter to cut the margin to one at halftime.
In a very closely contested third quarter, Minnesota raced onto a 76-70 with 36 ticks to go in the quarter. However, Bonner hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds to trim Minnesota’s lead to thee, heading in to the last quarter.
The turning point came late in the fourth quarter when the score was tied at 103 with just 45 seconds remaining in the game. In the ensuing passage, Mercury pinned 9 of 10 free throws to seal the victory.
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