Lavender's 19 points lead Sparks past Mercury 70-65

Jul 22, 2015, 01:58 am

LOS ANGELES -- Jantel Lavender had 19 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double, Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury 70-65 on Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Los Angeles (3-12) beat Phoenix (9-7) for the first time in the last 10 meetings.

Kristi Toliver added 10 points for Los Angeles. Ana Dabovic had nine, including a 3-pointer from the baseline that just beat the shot clock for a 69-65 lead with 1:19 left.

DeWanna Bonner scored 15, Brittney Griner had 13 and Candice Dupree added 12 for Phoenix.

Toliver and Temeka Johnson made consecutive 3-pointers, Los Angeles' first two of the game, for a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Dupree and Griner scored the next eight Phoenix points to tie it at 62, but the Mercury only made one field goal in the final 5 minutes.