INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tamika Catchings scored 14 points to lead a balanced offense and Shenise Johnson hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:32 left to help the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 80-79 on Sunday night.
Natalie Achonwa and Maggie Lucas scored 11 points apiece while Johnson and Lynetta Kizer added 10 each for the Fever (17-9), who pulled within a game of the Eastern Conference leading Liberty.
Kizer's hook shot in the lane gave Indiana, which led by as many as 12 points in the first half, a 78-77 lead. Tina Charles answered to put New York back on top with 1:58 to play.
Johnson's pull-up jumper 26 seconds later proved to be the winner.
Trailing by one, New York forced a turnover with 20 seconds left. After a timeout, Epiphanny Prince's shot was off the mark on a contested jumper from the right elbow in the final seconds.
Tina Charles led the Liberty (18-8) with 18 points.
MERCURY 79, LYNX 67
PHOENIX (AP) - DeWanna Bonner scored 21 points, Brittney Griner added 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots and the Mercury clinched a playoff berth with a victory over the Lynx.
Noelle Quinn scored 11 points and Monique Curry finished with 10 for the Mercury (16-10).
Candice Dupree scored five-straight points during a 10-2 run in the second quarter that pushed the Phoenix lead to 31-19 with 3:12 left in the first half. Minnesota trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
The Lynx (19-9) made just 4 of 17 second-quarter field goals and shot just 23 percent from the field in the first half as the Mercury took a 37-22 lead into halftime.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected late in the third quarter after picking up two quick technical fouls.
Sylvia Fowles had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota.
SKY 66, MYSTICS 64
WASHINGTON (AP) - Cappie Pondexter's layup with 6 seconds left gave the Sky a victory over the Mystics.
Washington's Kara Lawson hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds to tie the game. Coming out of a timeout, Pondexter, out near the halfcourt line, let the clock wind down before driving for the winning points. Lawson missed a last-second jumper.
With the home-and-home sweep, Chicago (17-11) earned its fourth straight victory over Washington (15-11) in the battle between Eastern Conference teams jockeying for playoff berths.
Pondexter finished with nine points, six below her average. Elena Delle Donne, the league's leading scorer at 24 points per game, had 18 on 7-of-22 shooting along with 10 rebounds. Allie Quigley added 15 points and Clarissa Dos Santos 10.
Lawson led Washington with 19 points with Ivory Latta adding 15 and Emma Meesseman 12.
SPARKS 90, STARS 59
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Jantel Lavender scored 22 points and Candace Parker added 20 to help the Sparks roll to a victory over the Stars.
Ana Dabovic had 18 for the Sparks (10-17), who padded their cushion between themselves, idle Seattle (7-20) and the Stars (7-21), for the final playoff berth out of the Western Conference.
Lavender blocked a career-high five shots and played in her 132nd consecutive game, second all-time for Los Angeles. Parker had 12 rebounds and nine assists. The Sparks shot 54 percent from the field and dominated in the paint 52-28.
Kayla McBride scored 13 points and Dearica Hamby 10 for the Stars, losers of five straight.
Nneka Ogwumike, the Sparks' second-leading scorer, sat out for the third straight game with concussion-like symptoms.
Parker scored nine points in an 11-2 run for a 28-13 first-quarter lead. The Sparks led 43-24 at halftime and led by as many as 37.
DREAM 102, SUN 92
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) - Angel McCoughtry scored 33 points to help Alanta beat Connecticut, handing the Sun their fourth-straight loss.
It was the eighth time McCoughtry has scored 30 or more points against the Sun in her WNBA career, and it was Atlanta's first win at Uncasville since June 23, 2013. The Dream, who had a season-high for points, have beaten Connecticut twice in three games and meet for a third time in four games Tuesday in Atlanta.
Atlanta (10-15) got off to a fast start, scoring 63 first-half points (63-47), the second-highest total for one half in franchise history.
Shoni Schimmel hit all four of her 3-point attempts in the first half and the team shot 23 of 32 from the field to build a 20-point lead.
The Sun (12-14) trailed by just six, 86-80 midway through the fourth quarter, but got no closer.