Griner's 30 points, 12 rebounds lead Mercury past Mystics

Posted August 20, 2021 7:00 am

The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) - Brittney Griner had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the Washington Mystics 77-64 on Thursday night.

Phoenix, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, started the second half on a 21-5 run - with eight points apiece from Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith - to build a 60-49 lead.

Washington was held to just four points through the opening eight minutes of the fourth quarter.

Diggins-Smith finished with 17 points for Phoenix (12-10). Brianna Turner grabbed 14 rebounds. She was questionable to play after injuring her ankle in the last game. Diana Taurasi had six points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Taurasi needs two assists to join four others in WNBA history with 2,000.

Tina Charles scored 17 points for Washington (8-13). Charles passed Sue Bird (6,490) for sixth on the WNBA career scoring list. Cappie Pondexter is fifth with 6,811 points.

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More AP women's basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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