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DeWanna Bonner’s clutch three-pointer at the buzzer leads the Phoenix Mercury past the Tulsa Shock in overtime.
In Phoenix’s last game, DeWanna Bonner finished 0-for-9 from the floor and with just four points.
Tuesday she ended the night with 25 points, none as important as the game-winning contested 3-pointer she sank as time expired in the overtime period.
With Bonner’s game winner, Phoenix (13-7) defeated a resilient Tulsa (10-11) team 87-84.
Tulsa led the whole way, building up a 13-point lead in the third quarter. Bonner had 14 of her points in the first quarter, but it took Brittney Griner finally getting in rhythm to power the Mercury back.
Griner finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Candice Dupree added 24 points.
Griner’s huge putback off a missed Mercury free throw evened the game at 68 with 4:25 remaining in regulation. Phoenix was unable to pull ahead until the 1:19 mark on a Bonner driving layup, giving the team it’s first lead since the opening possession, 2-0.
Tulsa’s Odyssey Sims hit an 8-foot jumper from the right side to tie the game at 76 and send it into overtime.
It would later be that exact same shot by Sims that would put the Mercury comeback in jeopardy, this time in the overtime period with just 49 seconds remaining.
A few plays later, Courtney Paris leveled Griner, who tweaked her left knee in the second quarter and came out of halftime wearing a brace, sending Paris to the line.
Paris went 1-for-2, evening the game at 84 with 25 seconds left. Phoenix held the ball until the 11-second mark, but couldn’t get into an offense, calling a timeout.
The Mercury set up an inbounds play with just 5.2 seconds remaining, struggling again to get anything set up. Then the ball found its way to Bonner’s hands.
Bonner got the ball, headed left and crossed over Karima Christmas to create space and let fly the game-winning three as the clock expired.
The win came as heartbreak for the Shock, who never trailed by more than two. Tulsa entered the matchup shooting 33.8 percent from the field in its last five games. By the third quarter, the Shock was outshooting Phoenix 41.2 percent to 36 percent.
All of the Tulsa starters finished in the double-digits in scoring led by Christmas and Riquna Williams with 17 each. Courtney Paris finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
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