Mercury, Fever have tough act to follow in Game 2
AP News | 2009-09-30 23:54:05
<div id="subtitle">Teams have tough act to follow in WNBA Finals after record-breaking Game 1</div><div><p>The Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever have a tough act to follow in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.</p><p>Phoenix's record-shattering 120-116 overtime victory in Game 1 Tuesday night still had the Mercury's Diana Taurasi shaking her head on Wednesday.</p><p>"It was huge shot after shot," she said. "It was exciting to be in. It was really exciting to be in. I haven't gotten a chance to see it and I don't want to see it. I always say with games like that, I don't want to go back and watch them."</p><p>Instead, Taurasi and the rest of the Mercury will try to look ahead to Game 2 of the best-of-5 series on Thursday night, when they will look to avoid a letdown.</p><p>Phoenix coach Corey Gaines tried to paint his team as one "with a chip on our shoulder."</p><p>"We're still the team people don't care for the way we play," he said. "It's not traditional play. There are still people who say you don't win playing that way."</p><p>It's hard to believe anyone didn't care for the way the teams played in Monday night's opener, the highest-scoring game in WNBA history.</p><p>Everyone expected Phoenix to play at breakneck speed, but the Fever matched that tempo.</p><p>"They kind of hurt us with our own medicine at some points of the game," Taurasi said.</p><p>Indiana coach Lin Dunn would like to see a bit more defense, and maybe not quite so much speed, from a team that ranked third in fewest points allowed in the regular season.</p><p>"I graded our defense a C-plus," she said. "I didn't think we did well some of the things we usually do well. I didn't think our transition defense was as good as it could be, our two-man defense was as good as it could be. I didn't think we defended the dribble drive as well as we can, and we certainly didn't box out as well as we can."</p><p>Still, the Fever tied it on Katie Douglas' 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds to go to send the game into overtime.</p><p>Indiana obviously is not intimidated by the ultra-up-tempo Phoenix offense installed by Paul Westhead, coach when the Mercury won the WNBA title two seasons ago.</p><p>"I think that we showed we can play with this team," said Douglas, who scored 30 in the game. They have tremendous firepower but we have some firepower as well."</p><p>Douglas traced the Fever's defensive problems to being accustomed to the slower play in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>"Because they (the Mercury) move at such a fast pace, we weren't able to set it up, where in the Eastern Conference it's a little more stagnant, set it up, grind it out power game," Douglas said.</p><p>The Fever like the up-tempo game, too, she said.</p><p>"But we need now to recognize when to pull it back and make them work defensively as well," Douglas said.</p><p>Phoenix improved to 10-0 in games this season when the Mercury scored at least 100 points. The Mercury are 22-2 overall in such games. On the other hand, it was only the second time Indiana had topped 100.</p><p>"Coach Dunn is an excellent coach, and I'm sure she'll make some changes defensively against us, try to slow us down," Phoenix point guard Cappie Pondexter said, "probably see a little more pressing on their end, kind of slow the point guard down and I'm sure we'll see a lot of trapping. But we'll make adjustments as well."</p><p>Besides, Gaines said, the Mercury can only be slowed down so much.</p><p>"I don't want to see 75-72," he said. "That's not our style."</p><p>Indiana's Tamika Catchings had just eight points, 10 below her average this season, but harassed Taurasi, the league's MVP and leading scorer, into a 5-for-17 shooting night before fouling out in the overtime.</p><p>"I think Catch will play smarter tomorrow night," Dunn said. "I thought she was a little overaggressive and maybe didn't play as smart on defense as she can. I thought she should have driven to the basket more. I think you will see her do that tomorrow night."</p><p>Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry was providing free tickets for the upper bowl at US Airways Center after their general manager Steve Kerr did the same for the opener.</p><p>While the place was loud, there still were many empty seats.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=60150502&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>
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