Mercury lean on defense to win third straight

Published Aug. 2, 2015 5:27 p.m. ET

foxsports

ATLANTA -- Candice Dupree scored a season-high 27 points and DeWanna Bonner had a steal and hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to help the Phoenix Mercury hold off the Atlanta Dream 71-68 on Sunday.

Atlanta (7-13), after trailing by as many as 18 in the first half, pulled to 67-66 when Damiris Dantas made a layup with 42 seconds left.

Angel McCoughtry came up with a steal on the other end but Bonner stole it back near midcourt and Leilani Mitchell's two free throws gave Phoenix (12-7) a three-point lead with 13 seconds to play.

Aneika Henry's putback of McCoughtry's missed 3-point attempt made it 69-68 with 0.5 seconds left and Bonner's free throws capped the scoring.

Monique Currie scored 14 points, and Mitchell added 10 for Phoenix. Bonner had a season-high 10 rebounds and five assists.

McCoughtry led Atlanta with 16 points.