Taurasi, Griner and Copper lead Mercury past Dream

The big three of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper came up big in the Phoenix Mercury’s 82-80 road win over the Atlanta Dream on Friday.

Griner led the Mercury (16-14) with 22 points and four blocks as the trio contributed 56 of the 82 points scored. Taurasi posted 18 points and five assists while going 3-for-5 from 3. Copper finished with 16 points.

Both teams were deadlocked in a close fourth quarter, but Taurasi’s five points, including a step-back 3-pointer, kept the Mercury going in the final three minutes.

Copper sealed the game with a layup with 10.1 seconds left. The Dream’s Tina Charles missed one of her free throws with 0.1 seconds left.

Unlike in Wednesday’s loss to the Dream in Atlanta, the Mercury authored a better showing in the first quarter and outscored the Dream by seven points. The momentum continued in the first half as the Mercury shot 17-for-33 (51.5%) to lead 48-41 at halftime.

More Mercury news:Rookie guard Celeste Taylor rejoins Mercury on 7-day deal after week with Sun

Taurasi, Griner and Copper played a big role in establishing the stronger start with 32 of the Mercury’s 48 points in the first half. Copper led with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

In her first game back from signing a seven-day contract, guard Celeste Taylor added nine points off the bench.

Known as one of the best rebounding teams in the WNBA, the Dream were matched on the glass Friday by the Mercury with both teams grabbing 36 rebounds. Sophie Cunningham played a key role for the Mercury with a team-leading eight rebounds.

The Mercury will return to Footprint Center for a pivotal five-game homestand starting with the New York Liberty on Monday at 7 p.m. The Liberty were the first team to clinch a playoff berth.