Griner, Taurasi lead Mercury past Sun, 96-86

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:38 p.m. ET

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi each scored 27 points to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the Connecticut Sun 96-86 on Thursday night in the second round of the WNBA playoffs.

The Mercury will face Seattle in the conference semifinals, starting Sunday.

Stephanie Talbot hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 94 with 4:19 left. Griner then scored four points and had a key block on Courtney Williams to give the Mercury a 92-86 lead with 1:11 left.

Taurasi improved to 13-0 in her career in deciding playoff games. The former UConn star got the team going early, hitting from all over the court.

The game was a rematch of last season's second round contest that the Mercury won 88-83. In that game the Mercury didn't have DeWanna Bonner, who was out for the season while she gave birth to twins. On Thursday night she played nearly the entire game and finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Courtney Williams led the Sun with 27 points, including a four-point play in the fourth quarter.

MYSTICS 96, SPARKS 64

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Delle Donne had 19 points and 12 rebounds to help Washington rout Los Angeles, eliminating the Sparks from the playoffs.

Washington (23-12) will open a best-of-five series against Atlanta on Sunday.

LaToya Sanders and Ariel Atkins each added 14 points for Washington. Candace Parker scored 16 points for Los Angeles (19-16). The game was played at George Washington University's Charles E. Smith Center because Capital One Arena is undergoing renovations.