The Olympian trio of Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner combined for 56 points for the Phoenix Mercury who bounced back after a 72-63 loss on Wednesday to the Atlanta Dream with a dramatic, 82-80 win.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Griner finished with four blocks and is just one shy of 800 in her career after Phoenix’s (16-14) win. Sophie Cunningham contributed with eight rebounds and two steals.
Four of the Dream’s (10-18) starters notched double-digit points, with Allisha Gray leading the pack with 22, Rhyne Howard getting 16, Tina Charles having 14 and Jordin Canada clinching 13. Atlanta’s three-game winning streak was snapped because of the result.
Mercury came in rejuvanated, looked for a response
Scoring a season-low six points in the first quarter a couple of days ago, the Mercury came out with a higher sense of urgency to get off on the right foot in the rematch. Griner scored eight points alone and recorded three blocks in the quarter, setting the tone for the rest of her team early on.
Re-signing with Phoenix on Friday morning after joining the Connecticut Sun last Friday, Celeste Taylor was thrown into action and made the most of her opportunity, scoring a career-high nine points off of the bench. She displayed a mixture of her smart basketball IQ on offense as well as her defensive tenacity to guard anyone on the floor, continuing to show that she can be a dual threat the Mercury can rely upon moving forward.
“It’s been great, it’s great to be back in a great organization,” Taylor said after her return. “I really enjoyed my time here for my first seven-day [contract], and so for them to have me back feels great. They do a great job, they have great vets on the team, great teammates all the way down the line. It feels great to be back.”
Looking to sweep the two-game series this week, the Dream were a step slower in the first half on Friday compared to the first encounter. Though Gray had nine points in the half, Atlanta was having trouble with finding constistency offensively, firing at a 4-for-15 (26.7%) clip from three in the first two quarters.
Becoming the No. 2 scorer in WNBA all-time history on Wednesday, Charles put on a valiant effort in her encore performance, recording a double-double (14 points and 13 rebounds) for the second straight game against her former team in the Mercury. Charles posted 17 rebounds in the Dream’s win on Wednesday.
Rebounding was a point of emphasis that Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts wanted to make gameplan adjustments around after being heavily dominated in that area 47-33 and allowing the Dream to rack up 16 offensive rebounds 48 hours before.
Both teams ended up tying 36-36 in rebounds in the second matchup, something he was more than pleased with.
“I am proud of our group, we got a resilient veteran group,” Tibbetts said. “We kinda tried to view this as a playoff series coming in here for two games because, more than likely, we’ll be on the road to start the playoffs. So we are going to have to win on the road. It was a good opportunity for us to play the first game, see how we responded, make some adjustments and our group stepped up. We played tough, we did a lot better job on the glass, just really proud of the execution and togetherness that we had.”
“We got a resilient, veteran group.”
Bouncing back after a tough loss on Wednesday to the Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts talked to our @AlecCipollini about how proud he was of his team’s response.#ValleyTogether #WNBA #AtlantaDream pic.twitter.com/KqGGGubV7l
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 24, 2024
Dream attempt late-game comeback, bid fell short
Things would get heated in the second half when Gray was charged with two controversial fouls she clearly was not convinced they were correct calls, including her lightly bumping Cunningham as she was surveying where her teammates where around the permiter. Taurasi would then softly bump Gray in the fourth quarter and Gray fell on the sidelines before the officials gave Taurasi a technical foul.
The Dream pushed back within four points, 63-59, in the latter stages of the third quarter before they made it difficult for the Mercury to comfortably see out the win.
Down nine to begin the fourth frame, Atlanta clawed back to make it to a one-possession game. Gray scored eight consecutive points for the Dream leading up to Howard scoring two free throw attempts with 13.1 seconds left to cut the deficit to just one, 80-79.
Wanting his team to perserve the win, Tibbetts called a timeout after Howard’s shots and his team talk proved to be crucial.
On the inbound, Natasha Cloud found Copper cutting in the paint for an easy layup with 10.1 seconds on the clock.
On the ensuing play, Howard found just enough time to fire a 3-point attempt up in an effort to tie the game up 82-82. The shot would instead hit the rim and bounce out to Gray who handed the ball to Naz Hillmon.
With just 0.1 seconds left, Hillmon shot the ball and was fouled by Monique Billings simaltenously. But with her team needing three points, Hillmon was inside the arch when she let go of the ball before the foul, only going to the line for two shots.
The forward made the first free throw attempt and tried to strategically miss on the second so one of her teammates could grab the rebound to get two points instead of one. Instead, the ball ricocheted off the rim and the buzzer sounded as the Mercury held on to win.
Making the most of their scoring opportunities, Phoenix shot an effecient 32-for-66 (48.5%) from the field and outscored Atlanta in the paint, 40-32. The Dream had seven steals and forced the Mercury to turn the ball over 12 times.
“I think for us, we had a lot to prove to ourselves after the game on Wednesday night,” Taurasi said. “We weren’t happy with our effort, weren’t happy with our execution, with our focus. Today we just wanted to bring a different attitude to the gym, and I think that it showed. We had a pretty good game. Atlanta has been playing pretty well, so it was a tough road win for us which we really haven’t had many. I think overall for the team, it is really gratifying.”
“Today we just wanted to bring a different attitude.”
Our @AlecCipollini asked Phoenix Mercury G Diana Taurasi about how gratifying a win in the rematch against the Atlanta Dream was and to bounce back after losing on Wednesday. #ValleyTogether #WNBA #AtlantaDream pic.twitter.com/5J6uKV8H43
— Burn City Mercury (@BurnCityMercury) August 24, 2024
The two teams split the two-game series this week 1-1 and the Mercury lead the regular season series, 2-1. They will meet one last time on Sept. 3 in Phoenix.
Next Games
Mercury: Home vs. New York Liberty (25-4) | Aug. 26 | 7 p.m. PT
Dream: Home vs. Indiana Fever (13-15) | Aug. 26 | 4:30 p.m. PT
Celeste Taylor miraculously returns to Mercury 1 week after short stint with Sun
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
