Image Credit: Michael Chow/The Rep |

Dream vs Mercury: Brittney Griner Leads Atlanta’s Victory on her Return to Phoenix

Phoenix Mercury honored their former star player, Brittney Griner with a tribute video.

Image Credit: Michael Chow/The Rep |

Atlanta Dream edged out the Phoenix Mercury 90-79 in Wednesday’s only WNBA encounter where Brittney Griner made his return to Phoenix for the first time since joining Atlanta. The Dream won their second game in the current six-game road trip.

Allisha Gray led all the scorers with 28 points, and Brittney Griner added 17 points and eight rebounds. Griner played played 11 seasons with the Mercury and led them to the 2014 WNBA title and an appearance in the 2021 finals. Phoenix Mercury honored their former star player with a tribute video.

The @atlantadream defeat the Mercury 90-79 on the road, improving to 14-10 on the season 👏

Allisha Gray powered the Dream to victory with 28 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST!#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/prEm2iMiT6
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 24, 2025

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First Quarter Surge Guided Atlanta to Crucial Road Win over Phoenix

Atlanta Dream had an early 10-0 run in the game which helped them to take a 9-point lead at the end of the opening quarter. With a 13-5 surge in the second quarter, the Mercury reduced the deficit to five points at halftime. Allisha Gray led the Dream with 13 points and two 3-pointers in the first half. The Mercury shot just 29.7% from the field in first two quarters, including 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

SAMI WHITCOMB LIGHTS IT UP IN CRUNCH TIME 🤯

Back-to-back triples closes the gap to 7 late in the 4Q!

ATL-PHX | CBS Sports Network pic.twitter.com/Ywi6yTaZOx
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 24, 2025

Allisha Gray’s beautiful back door cut helped Atlanta too take the double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Sami Whitcomb dropped 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to push the comeback for the Mercury. Griner hit a basket in the lane to help the Dream take a 86-77 lead. Jordin Canada contributed 14 points and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 11 for Atlanta.

For the Mercury, Sabally finished with 13 points after making a return from the injury. DeWanna Bonner scored 18 points and Kahleah Copper had 10. Alyssa Thomas added seven points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Atlanta’s second-leading scorer, Rhyne Howard, did not play. The Dream went 50% from the from the floor and 41.7% from the 3-point line. On the other hand, the Mercury went 11-for-30 from the 3-point range with a 38.8% shooting from the floor. Phoenix dropped second straight game following a three-game winning streak.

Image Credit: Michael Chow/The Rep |

Atlanta Dream

Phoenix Mercury

WNBA 2025

Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.