Johnson leads win for Liberty

Vickie Johnson had 17 points and five assists, and Crystal Robinson scored 16 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 77-69 victory over the Phoenix Mercury at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.

Elena Baranova had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and La’Keisha Frett added 10 points in her Liberty debut.

Anna DeForge scored a career-high 31 points, and Diana Taurasi had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Mercury.

New York won for the second time in three games since interim head coach Pat Coyle replaced the fired Richie Adubato.

“I thought our execution was much better,” Coyle said. “That is something that we’ve really been focusing on. We pushed the ball much better in transition.”

Despite their struggles since opening the season 6-1, the fifth-place Liberty (9-10) are just two games behind the Eastern Conference-leading Charlotte Sting.

Sun 65, Fever 61: At Indianapolis, rookie Lindsay Whalen scored on two driving layups in the final two minutes and finished with 13 points and three assists for the Sun, delivering Connecticut’s second come-from-behind win over Indiana in less than a week.

The Fever trailed by 13 points in the first half but went on a 13-0 run late in the second to take the lead. But Whalen and the Sun responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Whalen’s two acrobatic drives.

Lynx 83, Monarchs 73 (OT): At Minneapolis, Katie Smith scored a season-high 34 points to lead Minnesota over Sacramento.

Smith made 12 of 22 shots — including six 3-pointers — to lead the Lynx to their fourth win in their last five games.

Tangela Smith’s 19 points paced the Monarchs, seeking consecutive road victories.

Minnesota scored the first 10 points in overtime, including 3-pointers by Katie Smith and Amanda Lassiter.

The Monarchs were 1 for 8 from the floor in overtime after making 51 percent of their shots in regulation.

Minnesota had a chance to win it in regulation, but Lassiter’s 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime tied at 71.