Brionna Jones scored 20 points and Marina Mabrey added 19 off the bench as the Connecticut Sun extended their winning streak to three games with an easy 88-69 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.

DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points and Tyasha Harris added 12 as the Sun (27-10) earned their eighth win in their last 11 games and improved their record to 5-3 since clinching a playoff spot on Aug. 24. Alyssa Thomas had 11 assists.

Connecticut finished 4-0 against Phoenix this season, winning every game by double digits.

The Sun remained one game behind second-place Minnesota and will host the Lynx on Thursday after playing their final road game of the regular season on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Brittney Griner scored 26 points and nine rebounds and Natasha Cloud added 17 points for the Mercury (17-20), who secured a playoff spot on Sept. 3. Phoenix was without top scorer Kahleah Copper (21.6 points per game), who missed a game for the first time this season due to a back injury.

Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi sank two of 10 shots for seven points.

The Sun led by as many as seven points in the first quarter and had a 22-17 lead at the end of the opening period. The gap widened to as many as 11 points in the second quarter and Connecticut went into halftime with a 46-38 lead thanks to 13 points from Mabrey and 10 points from Jones.

The Sun took control with a 22-0 run in the third quarter and took a 70-44 lead into the fourth quarter. Phoenix made just 15 percent (3 of 20) of its shots in the third quarter and missed all 10 three-point shots.

The Mercury made 6 of 33 (18.2 percent) three-point shots, while the Sun made 8 of 26 (30.9 percent) long-range shots.

Connecticut has a 14-5 road record this season, second in the league behind the New York Liberty’s 15-4 record.

Phoenix visits the Chicago Sky on Sunday.

–Field level media