Ionescu scores career-high 37 points as Liberty roll past Dream

Sabrina Ionescu scored a career-high 37 points, including 20 points in the second quarter, and the visiting New York Liberty defeated the Atlanta Dream 106-83 on Friday night.

Ionescu made a franchise-record and career-high eight three-pointers, the last putting the Liberty at the 100-point mark for the first time this season. She made 10 of 18 shots from the field, including eight of 13 three-pointers and added nine-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Breanna Stewart had 25 points and nine rebounds, Jonquel Jones had 11 points and Courtney Vandersloot added 11 assists for New York (5-2).

Allisha Gray scored 17 points, Rhyne Howard 15 and Cheyenne Parker 12 for Atlanta (2-4).

Atlanta trailed 61-39 at halftime but closed to within 67-60 late in the third quarter. A steal and fast break layup by Marine Johannes put the Liberty up by nine, and New York finished the quarter on a 10-0 run. The Liberty added six points to their lead in the fourth quarter.

Haley Jones hit a three-pointer, got a rebound at the other end and hit a short jumper to draw Atlanta into a 33-all tie midway through the second quarter. But the Dream never took the lead and New York responded with a 14-1 run in which Ionescu scored 10 points. Her 20 points in the quarter were two shy of the WNBA record. She had 23 points in the first half and New York led 61-39 at the break.

The game was part of the Commissioner's Cup, in which New York is 4-2and Atlanta's record is 1-2.

The Liberty bounced back after an 86-82 loss to Chicago last time out and their scheduled game against Minnesota on Tuesday was postponed because of poor air quality in New York.

Fever rally past Lynx in 4th quarter

Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points, Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith had double-doubles, and the visiting Indiana Fever rallied in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Lynx 71-69 on Friday night.

Mitchell made nine of 16 from the field and added three three-pointers, Smith had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Boston added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Erica Wheeler scored 10 points.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Kayla McBride and Rachel Banham gave the Lynx a 52-46 lead with 1:38 left in the third quarter and Minnesota led 55-51 heading into the fourth quarter.

The score was tied five times in the fourth quarter before Indiana (2-5) took the lead for good on Mitchell's three-point play with 1:54 left. A pair of free throws by Wheeler gave the Fever a 71-66 lead near the one-minute mark. Napheesa Collier hit a three-pointer to get Minnesota within two points with 1:01 remaining but neither team scored again.

Collier had 28 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota (1-7) and McBride added 11 points. Bridget Carleton of Chatham, Ont., collected three rebounds for the Lynx.

Tiffany Mitchell hit two short shots in the lane and turned one of them into a three-point play, giving Minnesota a 25-21 lead midway through the second quarter. There would be four ties later in the quarter before Erica Wheeler hit a 19-foot pull-up jumper with 16 seconds left to give Indiana a 36-34 halftime lead.

Ogunbowale shines as Wings soar past Mercury

Arike Ogunbowale scored 35 points, Satou Sabally added a double-double and Dallas pulled away in the second half to beat Phoenix 90-77 on Friday night.

Ogunbowale sank 12 of 21 shots with five three-pointers and five assists for the Wings (5-3), who improved to 4-0 at home this season. Sabally, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft, finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for her fourth straight double-double and fifth of the season. Natasha Howard pitched in with 22 points and seven boards.

Brittney Griner had 18 points to pace the Mercury (1-5), who fell to 0-3 on the road. Sug Sutton scored 16 with nine assists. Diana Taurasi added 12 points and five assists.

Dallas grabbed its first lead, 40-38, since early in the first quarter on a basket by Howard with 1:39 remaining before halftime. Griner had a layup that tied the game at 42, but she was whistled for a technical foul. Sabally hit the free throw and Kalani Brown followed with a jumper to put the Wings up 45-42 at intermission.

Sabally scored eight straight on a three-point play, a basket and a three-pointer to push the Dallas lead to nine early in the third quarter. Howard followed with back-to-back buckets, capping a 14-0 run that gave the Wings a 66-53 lead with 1:38 left. Phoenix trailed by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Dallas also beat the visiting Mercury 84-79 on Wednesday.

Ogwumike lifts Sparks over Sky

Nneka Ogwumike finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds to propel Los Angeles to a 77-62 victory over Chicago on Friday night.

Ogwumike sank half of her 16 shots for the Sparks (4-3), who improved to 3-1 at home. She added five assists. Dearica Hamby pitched in with 16 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Jordin Canada scored 16 with five boards and five assists. Jasmine Thomas played her first game since tearing an ACL last season. She scored five points in 12 minutes off the bench.

Alanna Smith had 19 points, nine rebounds and blocked five shots to pace the Sky (5-4). Elizabeth Williams scored 14 with seven rebounds and four blocks. Kahleah Copper scored 10.

Hamby scored nine in the first quarter and Ogwumike added seven as the Sparks jumped out to a 20-12 lead. Smith scored five points over the final 71 seconds of the second period to get the Sky within 37-33 at halftime.

Smith buried a three-pointer to give Chicago a 46-45 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter, but Canada hit two free throws and Zia Cooke sank a three-pointer as the Sparks retook the lead. Lexie Brown had two baskets in an 8-0 run to close out the period and the Sparks weren't threatened from there.

Sykes, Austin power Mystics past Storm

Brittney Sykes scored 18 points, Shakira Austin had a double-double and Washington defeated Seattle 73-66 on Friday night.

Sykes hit five of 11 shots with two three-pointers and six of seven free throws for the Mystics (4-3). Austin scored 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Elena Delle Donne had 11 points, seven rebounds and five of Washington's 14 turnovers.

Ezi Magbegor topped the Storm (1-5) with 24 points. Seattle played without leading scorer Jewell Loyd, who is out with a foot injury. Jordan Horston scored 10 off the bench, but she sank just four of 13 shots.

Hamilton, Ont., native Kia Nurse added five points and three rebounds for the Storm.

Washington shot only 38.2 per cent from the floor, including six of 22 from distance, but made 15 of 18 at the foul line. Seattle shot 41 per cent overall, hit six of 21 from beyond the arc and made 10 of 14 free throws in its fourth straight loss. The Storm were out-rebounded 41-30.

The Mystics took control with a 27-point second quarter, turning a three-point first-quarter advantage into a 46-32 lead at halftime. The Storm chipped six points off the lead after three quarters but got no closer than eight points in the final period.