Lynx lose; Phoenix pulls within game of West lead

PHOENIX – There's a race brewing in the Western Conference.

Phoenix held the Minnesota Lynx to 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 73-66 victory on Friday night at the US Airways Arena. The win left the Mercury (14-7) only one game behind the Lynx (15-6), who lost two games in a row for the first time this season.

Minnesota lost by 22 points at Los Angeles on Tuesday after a bad fourth quarter.

"It's the two best teams in the league, so I'm expecting nothing but a dogfight, which is what we saw," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

DeWanna Bonner and Marta Xargay Casademont led the Mercury to its fifth consecutive victory with 15 points apiece while 6-8 center Brittney Griner had 13 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.

Bonner made her first seven free throws to set the WNBA single-season record with 59 in a row before missing two in the third quarter.

Griner, in her third season, became the Mercury's all-time career blocks leader with 274, surpassing Diana Taurasi by three.

And the visitors missed their first six shots of the fourth quarter — the home team has won nine in a row, counting playoffs, in this rivalry. Asjha Jones finally ended the 4½-minute drought for the Lynx with a turnaround jumper to cut Phoenix's lead to 64-58.

Two baskets by Lindsay Whalen and another by Jones got the Lynx within two, 66-64, with 2:46 left. Jones scored again to make it 68-66 with 2:12 left, but the Lynx missed their final five shots.

Griner blocked Whalen's fast-break layup with 1:20 left and raced back for a layup to put Phoenix up 70-66.

"Big play in transition where they hunted Whalen down and big block from Griner," Reeve said. "[It] just kind of gave them momentum.