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Lynx 92, Mercury 110

Jul 30, 2010 - 4:09 AM PHOENIX (AP) -- Penny Taylor had 22 points and seven assists and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Minnesota Lynx 110-92 Thursday night.

Phoenix's fourth win in five games put the Mercury two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the WNBA's Western Conference with 10 games to .

Minnesota has lost five straight and is a half-game behind fourth-place Los Angeles in the West.

Candice Dupree added 18 points and eight rebounds and Diana Taurasi had 16 points and seven assists for the Mercury, who have scored 100 points in four of the last six games. They have also topped 90 points in a league-record eight straight.

Charde Houston scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Minnesota.

Kara Braxton, playing in her first game in Phoenix since being traded to the Mercury from Tulsa on July 21, scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

The fast break was on early as Phoenix made 11 of its first 12 shots to open up a 23-point advantage late in the first half.

Taylor led four players in double figures by halftime with 16 points and four assists as the Mercury set a league record for points in the first half, taking a 69-50 lead at the break.

Phoenix was 30 for 43 from the field.

The highest-scoring team in the league has averaged 105.3 points a game in July and shot 60 percent from the field (47-of-79) on Thursday night, scoring 78 points in the paint.

The Mercury and Lynx set a league scoring mark on Saturday as Phoenix beat Minnesota 127-124 in double overtime.

The Mercury have won the season series with the Lynx in five of the last six years, splitting their games last season.