Natasha Cloud scored 16 points and had nine assists, Shakira Austin added 15 points and eight rebounds and the Washington Mystics beat Las Vegas 83-73 Tuesday night. The Mystics snapped the Aces’ four-game winning streak.
Ariel Atkins added 13 points for the Mystics (20-12). Elena Delle Donne scored five points on 1-of-7 shooting but grabbed 11 rebounds and had five assists. Myisha Hines-Allen scored six straight points before Rui Machida made a driving layup to cap an 8-0 run.
With momentum on their side, the Mystics took a 65-59 lead going into the fourth quarter. Kelsey Plum hit a three to tie the game at 68-68 later in the fourth before Mystics go on a 13-3 run in the final six minutes of the game to close the game.
A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas (22-9) with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Chelsea Gray added 20 points, Plum scored 15 and Young finished with 11 points. The Mystics won back-to-back games and 5 of their last six.
Alyssa Thomas posted her second triple-double in less than two weeks and the Connecticut Sun rolled past the Phoenix Mercury 87-63. Thomas, who recorded the franchise’s first triple-double in a win over the Lynx, finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The No. 4 pick overall in the 2014 draft, the 6-foot-2 Thomas is just the fifth WNBA player with multiple triple-doubles. She joined Candace Parker (Chicago Sky) and Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty) as the only players with more than one this season.
Natisha Hiedeman had 16 points to lead seven Connecticut players scoring in double figures. Phoenix took a 13-8 lead when Shey Peddy scored with 3:44 left in the first quarter but the Mercury went scoreless for the next 7-plus minutes.
Brionna Jones made a layup to open the scoring in the second quarter and give Connecticut (21-10) the lead for good. Hiedeman made a 3-pointer to make it 42-30 with 7:50 left in the third, and the Sun led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Mercury (13-18) have lost back-to-back games to fall a game behind the Dallas Wings (13-16) for sixth in the WNBA standings with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, Natasha Howard had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the New York Liberty beat the Los Angeles Sparks 102-73 on Tuesday night.
The Liberty (12-18) and Los Angeles (12-18) both are tied with the Atlanta Dream for the eighth and final playoff spot with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. They will play again each other on Wednesday in New York.
Both teams are a half-game behind the Phoenix Mercury (13-18) and a half-game ahead of the 11th-place Minnesota Lynx (12-19). Brittney Sykes led the Sparks with 19 points and Nneka Ogwumike scored 15 for the losing side.
Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 26 points, Teaira McCowan added 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Dallas Wings beat the Chicago Sky 84-78. Dallas played without its leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale.
Kahleah Copper led Chicago with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Azura Stevens, Allie Quigley and Emma Meesseman each scored 14 points for the Commissioner Cup finalists. the Sky (23-8) had their franchise-record 10-game home win streak snapped.
Chicago has a one-game lead over the Las Vegas Aces atop the league standings with less than two weeks left in the regular season. Dallas moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Mercury.
