Diana Taurasi complemented her 2009 WNBA MVP
award with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists, as the Phoenix Mercury
recorded a thrilling 120-116 overtime victory over the Indiana Fever in the
first game of the WNBA Finals.
The 236 total points are the most ever in a WNBA game -- regular season or
playoffs. The two teams shattered the previous WNBA Finals scoring record by
28 points, accomplished by the Mercury and Shock two years ago, when Phoenix
won its only championship.
Taurasi won her first MVP award since joining the league in 2004. Cappie
Pondexter also helped the Mercury take the early lead in the best-of-five
series with 23 points, while Penny Taylor added 23 points off the bench in the
win. The team shot 50 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from beyond the
arc and registered 24 second-chance points.
"It's an exciting game for people to watch on TV," Mercury head coach Corey
Gaines said. "I think the first game is always the toughest game...This is a
type of game I feel we can win: up-tempo, a lot of points. We practice that
way, we train that way."
Katie Douglas scored a game-high 30 points for the Fever, who are in their
first WNBA Finals in team history. Ebony Hoffman added 27 points and eight
rebounds, while Tammy Sutton-Brown registered 19 points in defeat.
"The fans loved it, really intense," said Indiana head coach Lin Dunn. "At the
end of the day, when you look at the stat sheet, second-chance points really
hurt us. We missed crucial box-outs that they turned into points. We would
have won in regulation if we converted those box-outs."
Game 2 is Thursday, again in Phoenix.
In overtime, Pondexter gave Phoenix the lead right away with a layup, and
Douglas responded with a pair of free throws. Tamika Catchings, who finished
with eight points, gave Indiana a 112-111 lead with 3:27 left with her only
three-pointer of the game.
Taurasi, though, showed why she won the MVP, sinking two free throws after a
foul and following with a jump shot for a 115-114 Phoenix lead with two
minutes to go.
Douglas, who had eight of the team's 11 points in overtime, sank a jumper to
put the road team back in front, but Pondexter made two consecutive shots,
with the latter giving the Mercury a three-point lead with 20.2 seconds to go.
Douglas missed on a three-pointer at the other end, and Pondexter drained 1-
of-2 free throws with three seconds left to seal the win.
The first quarter ended in a 31-31 tie, and Phoenix grabbed a 56-53 lead at
halftime, but Indiana came roaring back in the third.
The Fever began the second half on a 15-7 burst, and Hoffman's three-point
play midway through the period made it 68-63. A Douglas triple with 2:47 to go
in the quarter extended the advantage to 77-69, and Indiana carried a six-
point lead, 86-80, into the fourth.
The Mercury started to get back into the game, cutting their deficit to 93-89
on a Pondexter three-point play with 7:14 remaining.
After the Fever went back ahead by seven with six minutes to play, Phoenix
embarked on a 9-2 run that tied the game on Taylor's bank shot with 3:48 left
in regulation.
Phoenix continued the run, and a Johnson three-pointer put the home team ahead
by four, 102-98, with 2 1/2 minutes to go. Indiana responded right away, as
Catchings hit a couple free throws and Briann January hit a layup to tie the
game with 47.8 seconds left.
Taylor was fouled on the next possession and hit one free throw for a one-
point Phoenix lead, and Pondexter added two more free throws with 14.2 seconds
left for a 105-102 advantage. Douglas, though, came down the court and drained
a three-pointer -- her fourth of the game -- to send the contest into
overtime.
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