Taurasi to be honored as Mercury host Lynx, 7 p.m. Friday, FOX Sports Arizona Plus

Published Jul. 1, 2017 3:08 a.m. ET

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PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Mercury will honor guard Diana Taurasi and welcome two roster additions when they host the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.

This will be the first home game for Phoenix (7-5) since Taurasi broke the league's career scoring record on June 18 in Los Angeles. Already this week, Taurasi had a street outside of Talking Stick Resort Arena named after her, and she threw out the first pitch before an Arizona Diamondbacks game.

The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Taurasi bobblehead. WNBA president Lisa Borders and Tina Thompson, who held the record broken by Taurasi, will be among those in attendance. The team will also have a petting zoo, featuring live goats, set up inside the arena to recognize Taurasi as the greatest of all-time (G.O.A.T.).

The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona Plus and streamed live on FOX Sports GO.

Getting a victory on Taurasi Night won't be easy against the Lynx, who are 11-1 and lead the league with an average of 87.8 points per game.

The game will match the WNBA's two leading scorers -- Phoenix center Brittney Griner (23.1 points per game) and Minnesota center Sylvia Fowles (21.0).

"You definitely have to bring it," Fowles said on WNBA.com. "I look forward to games where you have the opportunity to play a true five. We do a lot of things similar. It's definitely going to be a challenge but these are the games I look forward to."

Taurasi, in her 13th WNBA season -- all with the Mercury -- is averaging 18.9 points per game and attempting a league-high 8.7 3-pointers per game.

http://twitter.com/WNBA/status/880171387284996096

Since the team's last game -- an 85-82 win at the Seattle Storm on Friday -- the Mercury signed 6-foot-6 post player Angel Robinson, who recently finished a commitment playing for Montenegro in the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket Championships. She played with the Storm during the 2014 season.

Phoenix also acquired wing Monique Currie from the San Antonio Stars in exchange for guard Shay Murphy, forward Sophie Brunner and a 2018 third-round draft pick.

Currie, a 12-year WNBA veteran, is averaging 11.8 points. This is her second stint with the Mercury, having played with Phoenix in 2015.

Minnesota began the season with nine consecutive victories before a home loss to the Connecticut Sun. The Lynx rebounded from the five-point loss by getting a 17-point win over Washington and a nine-point victory over San Antonio Sunday.

Fowles and Maya Moore each scored 13 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter when Minnesota rallied from a nine-point deficit with nine minutes remaining against the Stars.

The combination of Fowles and Moore has been difficult to stop. Fowles is averaging 10.3 rebounds and shooting 67.4 percent. Moore is averaging 16.0 points and shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range (27 of 63) while scoring at least 22 points in four straight games.

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. The Lynx went 6-0 vs. the Mercury last season, including a three-game playoff sweep.