Griner, Nurse help Mercury beat Wings 89-85

ARLINGTON, Texas -- — Brittney Griner had 27 points and 15 rebounds, Kia Nurse hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points and the Phoenix Mercury never trailed in a 89-85 victory over the Dallas Wings on Saturday night.

Griner was 12-of-16 shooting and added four assists. Skylar Diggins-Smith had 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Phoenix (3-3).

The Mercury played their second game since guard Diana Taurasi fractured her sternum. She’s expected to miss about four weeks.

Nurse scored eight points — including two 3-pointers — and Diggins-Smith added seven in a 17-3 run to open the game. The Wings missed their first nine field-goal attempts and shot just 36.7% (29 of 79) overall.

Marina Mabrey hit a 3 and Arike Ogunbowale followed with another 3-pointer and a three-point play before Mabrey made 2 of 3 from the free-throw line to cap an 11-0 spurt that trimmed the Dallas deficit to 87-84 with 10.5 seconds left but Diggins-Smith answered with a pair of foul shots a couple seconds later and the Mercury held on.

Ogunbowale and Mabrey led the Wings (1-4) with 24 points apiece. Mabrey hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals. Tyasha Harris added 13 points and Kayla Thornton scored 10.

The Mercury made 31 of 62 from the field and outrebounded Dallas 43-31.

The Wings have lost four in a row since beating the L.A. Sparks 94-71 in their season opener.

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