It was a must-win for the Phoenix Mercury against the Seattle Storm, and the Mercury showed up in a big way. Phoenix beat Seattle 94-78 in Sue Bird‘s and Diana Taurasi‘s final time playing against each other unless they meet in the playoffs.
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The game was pretty even through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Mercury outscored the Storm 34-13 to cruise to a victory. Phoenix used a solid defensive performance to beat Seattle. The Mercury held the Storm to 36.6% shooting from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. Phoenix has struggled to defend the three-point shot all season long.
On the offensive end, Phoenix shot 46.2% from the field and 45.2% from beyond the three-point line. Skylar Diggins-Smith led the Mercury in scoring with 35 points on 12-19 shooting from the field while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists.
Diana Taurasi added 28 points along with six three-pointers made. Taurasi also grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists. Sophie Cunningham was the third leading scorer with 19 points. In the game on Friday night, Phoenix turned the weaknesses into strengths, they were outrebounded 39-34, but it wasn’t by a wide margin.
For Seattle, Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tina Charles, who started for the first time, added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jewell Loyd added 15 points.
Phoenix is currently in the eighth spot for the playoffs. If they can continue to play this way, they could even get a higher seed, but there is still basketball to be played. The Mercury must continue to play efficiently on offense, defend the three-point shot, and rebound. If they can do those things, they will be a lock for the playoffs.
Phoenix has five days off before they take on the Los Angeles Sparks Thursday, another huge game.
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LaMarr Fields is an Insider and breaking news reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on Twitter via @lburncitysports
