Britney Griner was the star of Phoenix Mercury's ninth consecutive victory, all coming after the WNBA's Olympic break.
In the Mercury's second win in four days over the Indiana Fever, she recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds - her 14th double-double of the season and the 55th of her career.
This second win was more hard-fought than the team's 22-point win on Friday (ET). In this 86-81 victory, the Mercury overcame an early nine-point deficit and turned it into an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter.
.@brittneygriner did her thing to lead the @PhoenixMercury past the Fever 💥#CountIt pic.twitter.com/4YY16bNnRk
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 7, 2021
However, the Fever fought back to make it a three-point game (84-81) with 47.9 seconds remaining. Guard Kelsey Mitchell, who top-scored for the Fever with 23 points, was one of five players for the Indiana franchise to score in double figures.
At the final buzzer, the Fever couldn't complete their comeback and succumbed to their fifth loss in their last seven games.
For the Mercury, Kia Nurse was the next highest scorer with 19 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Their starting backcourt duo of Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi combined for 15 points and 11 assists.
The nine-game winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history with seven of the nine victories coming by a double-digit margin. Including this streak, the Mercury have won 13 of thier last 16 games which has helped them improve their 5-7 start to a solid 18-10 record.
With this victory and only four regular season games remaining, Phoenix is currently fifth in the league standings but only two games out of the second seed.
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