Brittney Griner once again put together a solid showing in front of the Phoenix Mercury fans.
This time, however, the nine-time All-Star was wearing an Atlanta Dream uniform.
Griner tallied 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the Dream's 90-79 win over the Mercury on Wednesday in her first game back in Phoenix since she joined Atlanta as a free agent.
Griner, who spent her first 11 WNBA seasons with the Mercury and helped the franchise to the 2014 title, was honoured by the team with a video tribute before the game. She then scored Atlanta's first points in the game's opening minute and later, made the Dream's final field goal on a cutting layup with 1:40 remaining to put Atlanta up by nine.
Allisha Gray had a game-high 28 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, while Jordin Canada added 14 points and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 11 to help Atlanta (14-10) bounce back from Tuesday's 87-72 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
The Mercury, who were playing for the first time since Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game, got Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper back in the starting lineup after both had been sidelined since July 3 due to injuries, but Phoenix (15-8) shot just 38.8 per cent and was outscored 42-24 in the paint.
Sabally tallied 13 points, Copper scored 10, and DeWanna Bonner led the Mercury with 18 points.
