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Dream beat shorthanded Mercury by 16

Jun 1, 2012 - 1:17 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Sancho Lyttle and Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 12 points apiece Thursday and the Atlanta Dream rolled to an 81-65 win over the shorthanded Phoenix Mercury.

The Mercury announced earlier in the day that guard Diana Taurasi will be out indefinitely with a strained left hip flexor, an injury the four-time reigning WNBA scoring champion sustained in training camp.

Angel McCoughtry, Armintie Price and Lindsey Harding added 10 points each for the Dream, who improved to 2-2 on the season.

The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions used a 24-11 difference in the second quarter to take a 43-27 lead at halftime.

DeWanna Bonner scored 22 points and Candice Dupree had 14 to lead the Mercury, who fell to 1-3 after their second straight loss.

Taurasi missed Phoenix's season opener against Minnesota and played sparingly against Tulsa before scoring 18 points in a loss last Saturday to Los Angeles in the team's home opener.

She was not with the team in Atlanta and will be re-evaluated on a day-to-day basis, the Mercury said.