Stewart makes history as Liberty defeat Sun in Jonquel Jones' return to Connecticut

Breanna Stewart scored 24 points to become the the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 4.000 career points, Jonquel Jones added 14 points and 11 rebounds in her return to Connecticut and the New York Liberty beat the Sun 89-81 on Tuesday night.

The victory moved the Liberty into a tie with Connecticut atop the Commissioner Cup standings in the Eastern Conference. Each team has one game left although New York has the tiebreaker having swept the two games against the Sun.

Las Vegas has already wrapped up the Western Conference slot.

Alyssa Thomas led Connecticut (12-4) with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for her fifth career triple-double. She's now done it in consecutive games and three times in the last seven days. Thomas is the all-time record holder in the category. DiJonai Carrington scored a career-high 23 points to lead Connecticut.

New York (10-3) was up 80-68 with 6:26 left before Connecticut (12-4) scored 13 straight, the last of which came on a contested layup by Thomas with 3:39 left that was her 11th point and gave her the triple-double. It also gave the Sun their first lead since the first half.

Kayla Thornton followed with a runner in the lane with 40.4 seconds remaining. The Sun missed eight consecutive shots over the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Carrington gave the Sun a chance to even be in the game, scoring 17 of her points in the second half.

Jones homecoming

The game served as a homecoming for Jones, who played six season in Connecticut before getting traded to New York in the offseason. Jones won the WNBA MVP in 2021 and helped the Sun reach the finals twice, including last year.

The Sun played a tribute video to Jones a few minutes before tipoff and she got a warm ovation from the crowd.

Jones got the first basket for New York in a fast-paced first quarter that saw Connecticut lead 29-28 at the end of it. The back-and-forth action continued in the second quarter where neither team could get much of an edge. New York scored the final eight points of the half to go up 47-43 at the break.

Collier scores career-high 33 as Lynx top Storm

Napheesa Collier had a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, Diamond Miller added 18 points in her return from an injury and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 104-93 on Tuesday night.

Minnesota made its first six shots of the fourth quarter during a 14-5 run to extend its lead to 94-79. After Seattle got within eight points, Miller made a jumper near the free-throw line with 36.3 seconds left to seal it.

Collier scored 24 in the second half to help the Lynx reach 100-plus points for the first time this season.

Kia Nurse of Hamilton, Ont., scored 10 points and added three assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes for Seattle while Bridget Carleton of Chatham, Ont. scored two points and grabbed two rebounds for Minnesota in 10 minutes of playing time.

Kayla McBride also scored 18 points for Minnesota (5-9). Rookie Dorka Juhasz had 10 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double. Miller, who missed the last eight games due to an ankle injury, was 8 of 13 from the field in 31 minutes.

Minnesota scored 53 points in the opening 20 minutes for its highest-scoring half of the season.

Ezi Magbegor and Sami Whitcomb each scored 20 points for Seattle (4-10). Jewell Loyd and Ivana Dojkic added 14 points apiece. Whitcomb made six of Seattle's 13 3-pointers.

Wings send Mercury to 6th straight loss

Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points, Natasha Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Dallas Wings beat Phoenix 77-62 on Tuesday night for the Mercury's sixth straight double-digit loss.

Howard sank a wide open 3-pointer with two seconds left in the third quarter for a 56-51 lead. After Phoenix got within 63-60 with 7:30 remaining in the fourth, Dallas closed on a 14-2 run — including 12 unanswered points.

Satou Sabally secured her 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas (7-8), which has won three straight in the series. Sabally also had a career-high six assists.

Brittney Griner scored 20 points for Phoenix (2-11). Michaela Onyenwere added 12 points and Diana Taurasi was held to six points on 2-of-7 shooting. Sophie Cunningham (back) and Megan Gustafson (concussion) did not play.