Recaps: Sun beat Liberty, Mercury hold off Aces on Wednesday night

One four-game losing streak became five, and one four-game losing streak ended on Wednesday. Here’s what else happened.

Connecticut Sun (92) vs. New York Liberty (77)

In the most one-sided matchup between these teams this season, the Sun used 47.4 percent shooting and a big scoring effort from Jonquel Jones to win their third straight and extend the Liberty’s losing streak to five games.

Jones came off the bench to score 21 points in 18 minutes, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, in her second straight 20-plus-point game. Courtney Williams added 17 points to go with 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Alyssa Thomas had 12 rebounds to go with her 5 points.

The Liberty had four players in double figures, as did the Sun, but New York put up its coldest-shooting performance of the series at 43.9 percent. Sugar Rodgers led the Liberty with 16 points. Brittany Boyd had 14 points and 8 assists and Amanda Zahui B scored 14 points off the bench, though she also had 4 personal fouls in just 20 minutes. By her usual standards, Tina Charles was effectively neutralized, scoring just 12 points.

Phoenix Mercury (104) vs. Las Vegas Aces (93)

The Mercury snapped their four-game losing streak Wednesday, holding on late to beat a cold-shooting Aces team to stay solidly in the playoff mix.

Diana Taurasi scored a season-high 37 points to go with 9 assists to lead the Mercury, while Brittney Griner added 25 points and 11 rebounds. DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points with her game-high 14 rebounds. Phoenix’s bench scored just 5 points in the team’s first 100-plus-point effort since its most recent win on July 15.

While the Aces hung in there quarter by quarter, a 7-point deficit in the first quarter on 33.3 percent shooting ended up setting the tone. The team shot just 39.3 percent for the game, with A’ja Wilson’s 29 points and 6 rebounds leading the way. Kayla McBride added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Carolyn Swords equaled the 6-rebound mark set by Wilson and McBride, while Kelsey Plum matched McBride’s 5 assists.