Tamika Catchings nearly recorded the first
triple-double in WNBA Finals history, registering 19 points, 11 assists and
nine rebounds, as the Indiana Fever evened the WNBA Finals at a game apiece
with a 93-84 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Ebony Hoffman and Briann January each added 16 points for the Fever, who are
looking for their first WNBA title and will host the next two games in the
five-game series. Tammy Sutton-Brown and Katie Douglas each contributed 14
points, as six Indiana players scored in double figures.
Game 1 featured the highest scoring matchup in league history, but Catchings
-- the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year -- helped Indiana hold Phoenix to
39.7 percent shooting and 13 points fewer than its playoff scoring average.
The Mercury, who had three players score more than 20 points in the opening
game, were led by MVP Diana Taurasi, who topped the team with 20 points and
seven rebounds. Cappie Pondexter, who scored 23 in Game 1, tallied only 12,
and Penny Taylor, who also had 23, contributed just 14 before leaving late in
the third with a cut on her mouth after being inadvertently elbowed in the
face by January.
Phoenix is looking for its second title in three years, as it bested Detroit
in the 2007 WNBA Finals. Game 3 is Sunday in Indianapolis.
An early 8-0 run helped give Indiana a 31-24 lead after the first quarter, but
Phoenix roared back with a 15-4 run to start the second to go in front.
The Fever, though, were able to regain the lead before halftime and held a
48-45 advantage at the break.
Indiana started the second half on a 7-0 run, taking a 10-point lead on
Hoffman's three-point play less than two minutes into the third. Phoenix was
unable to cut into its deficit, as Catchings drained a couple free throws with
2 1/2 minutes to go for a 71-55 margin.
A Temeka Johnson three-pointer for the Mercury to finish the third sent the
home team into the final quarter facing a 77-63 deficit.
Phoenix finally started to come back in the fourth, as Johnson's jump shot
with 4 1/2 minutes left made it 83-74. The margin reached five with under a
minute to play on Pondexter's layup, but January and Douglas each hit a pair
of free throws to seal the game for the Fever.
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