Diana Taurasi scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, and Brittney Griner had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-84 on Friday night to advance to the WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky.
Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum scored 22 points each for Las Vegas, and A’ja Wilson added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Shay Peddy made 2 of 3 free throws with 4.8 seconds left to give the Mercury an 86-84 lead, and Griner added one from the line to close the scoring. Griner also had a block on Wilson with 0.7 seconds remaining to secure the win.
Taurasi made a 3-pointer with 1:12 left to give the Mercury an 84-81 lead, and Gray responded with a 3 just 6 seconds later to tie it for the Aces.
Game 1 of the Mercury-Sky finals is on Sunday in Phoenix.
The Aces went on a 14-2 run to begin the third quarter to take a 56-46 lead midway through the quarter.
WNBA Finals
Best of five; Games 4 and 5 if necessary
Game 1: Sunday at Mercury, 2 p.m., ABC-7
Game 2: Wednesday at Mercury, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: Friday at Sky, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Game 4: Sunday, Oct. 17, at Sky, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 5: Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Mercury, 8 p.m., ESPN2