Sales leads Sun past Shock again

Nykesha Sales was again too much for the Detroit Shock.

She scored five of her 19 points in the final 1:15 to help the visiting Connecticut Sun beat Detroit 74-72 Sunday, the second time they’ve beaten the Shock in three days.

Wendy Palmer added 18 points to help send her former team to its third loss in four games. Connecticut has beaten the defending WNBA champs twice in a row after losing seven in a row to them, including a two-game sweep in the playoffs last season.

“We realized that we can play with this team,” Sales said. “We understand that they won a championship last year, but this year, other teams are hungry.”

Monarchs 63, Mercury 57: Kara Lawson scored 13 points to help Sacramento hold off visiting Phoenix.

It was a tough night for Phoenix rookie Diana Taurasi. After a solid first half, she missed her first seven shots in the second. She finished with 16 points, but was 7 for 19 from the floor.

Comets 72, Mystics 67: Kedra Holland-Corn scored 21 points and Sheryl Swoopes added 16 to lift Houston past visiting Washington.

Chamique Holdsclaw scored a game-high 20 points for Washington, which lost for the second time in three games. Stacey Dales-Schuman added 12 points for the Mystics.

Sparks 83, Lynx 67: Mwadi Mabika scored 20 points to lead six Los Angeles players in double figures, as the Sparks won in Minnesota.

Lisa Leslie scored 13 points and Nikki Teasley added 11 for Los Angeles.