Basketball notes | 9-13-14

Mercury sweep Sky for third WNBA title

Mercury sweep Sky for third WNBA title

CHICAGO — Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree each scored 24 points each and the Phoenix Mercury, playing without star center Brittney Griner, beat the Chicago Sky 87-82 Friday night to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA Finals for their third championship.

DeWanna Bonner added 12 points for the Mercury, who also won titles in 2007 and 2009. Griner sat out following surgery to correct a retinal issue after she was hit in the right eye in Game 2.

Elena Delle Donne scored 23 points, Sylvia Fowles had 20 points and Allie Quigley had 19 for the Sky.

Taurasi hit a tiebreaking short jumper and was fouled with 14.3 seconds left and she made the ensuing free throw to put Phoenix up 85-82.

Delle Donne missed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, and the Sky fouled Penny Taylor, who made both free throws with 9.3 seconds left for the final score.

Taurasi, who was 4 for 9 on 3s, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in the finals. Phoenix, which had a WNBA-record 29 wins during the regular season, shot 49.3 percent overall from the field.

Griner traveled to Chicago on Friday and shot around during pregame warm-ups. She said it was a doctor’s decision to sit out.

“They wanted to make sure I was OK for the future, so I’m still day by day right now,” she said.

Serbia will play US for gold

MADRID — Milos Teodosic scored 24 points and Serbia reached the championship game of the Basketball World Cup by beating France 90-85 on Friday night.

The Serbians will face the defending champion and unbeaten U.S. on Sunday.

Teodosic helped Serbia lead by as much as 18, but Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers nearly brought the French all the way back, finishing with 35 points.

Boris Diaw of the San Antonio Spurs added 13 for France, which will play Lithuania on Saturday for the bronze medal.

The Associated Press