PHOENIX — Satou Sabally scored 23 points — including 15 in a stellar fourth quarter — and the Phoenix Mercury beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 84-76 in Game 3 on Friday night to take control of their WNBA playoff semifinals series.

The Mercury have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and can reach the Finals on Sunday with a win in Game 4 in Phoenix.

Sabally hit a 3-pointer to give the Mercury a 78-76 lead with 3:05 remaining and added two free throws with 2:01 left to push the advantage to 80-76. Alyssa Thomas had a steal and layup with 21.8 seconds left that sealed the win, capping a 21-9 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Sabally said it was the team's defense that made the difference in the final minutes.

“We closed them out, we knew what they were running,” Sabally said. “So we

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