COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Brittney Griner scored 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting with six rebounds, six assists and four blocks to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the Atlanta Dream 82-80 on Friday night.
Diana Taurasi added 18 points and Kahleah Copper scored 16 for Phoenix (16-14).
The Mercury went ahead 24-17 after the first quarter and played with the lead for the rest of the night, but Atlanta's Allisha Gray scored eight points in a span of 2:04 to cut Phoenix's advantage to 80-77 with 1:45 to go.
Neither team scored again until Rhyne Howard hit two free throws to make it a one-point game with 13.1 seconds left. After Gray was called for a foul, Copper, at the right elbow, cut toward the basket, caught an inbounds pass from Natasha Cloud and made a layup to make it an 82-79 lead for Phoenix with 10.1 remaining.
On the next possession, Howard missed a potential tying 3-point attempt. Off the miss, the loose ball made its way to Tina Charles with 0.1 seconds to go. She made the first free throw and missed the second, allowing Phoenix to grab the rebound and close out the win.
Gray finished with 22 points, Howard scored 16 and Charles added 14 and 13 rebounds for Atlanta (10-18). Jordin Canada scored 13 points.
Charles had 12 points on Wednesday and moved past Tina Thompson into second on the WNBA's all-time scoring list. Charles, who has 7,505 career points, trails only Taurasi, who has 10,518. Thompson scored 7,488 points over her 18-year career with the Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm.
Charles has 3,889 career rebounds, second only to Sylvia Fowles (4,006).
The Dream beat Phoenix 72-63 at home on Wednesday to pull within one game of the Chicago Sky for the final playoff spot.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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