Copper leads Phoenix against Los Angeles after 34-point game

Phoenix Mercury (10-10, 7-6 Western Conference) at Los Angeles Sparks (4-15, 3-7 Western Conference)

Los Angeles; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Phoenix Mercury plays the Los Angeles Sparks after Kahleah Copper scored 34 points in the Mercury’s 104-96 victory against the Dallas Wings.

The Sparks are 3-7 against conference opponents. Los Angeles allows 85.3 points and has been outscored by 7.3 points per game.

The Mercury are 7-6 in Western Conference play. Phoenix ranks fourth in the Western Conference with 25.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Brittney Griner averaging 4.7.

Los Angeles is shooting 42.9% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 43.2% Phoenix allows to opponents. Phoenix’s 43.0% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.7 percentage points lower than Los Angeles has given up to its opponents (45.7%).

The teams meet for the third time this season. The Mercury won 92-78 in the last matchup on June 29.

TOP PERFORMERS: Aari McDonald is averaging 9.8 points and 3.9 assists for the Sparks.

Copper is scoring 22.4 points per game and averaging 4.3 rebounds for the Mercury.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sparks: 2-8, averaging 80.2 points, 31.4 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 87.1 points per game.

Mercury: 6-4, averaging 87.3 points, 29.9 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 86.2 points.

INJURIES: Sparks: Julie Allemand: out for season (ankle), Cameron Brink: out for season (acl), Azura Stevens: out (arm), Lexie Brown: out (chron’s disease).

Mercury: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

By The Associated Press