When the Phoenix Mercury gets its fastbreak offense going, they can be unbeatable, even against a team that has dominated them for three seasons.
Candice Dupree scored a season-high 29 points, and the Mercury beat the Seattle Storm, 92-83, on Saturday night in Phoenix to even their Western Conference playoff series at a game apiece.
“We kind of were reacting to them as opposed to dictating things,” said Seattle’s Sue Bird. “With a team like Phoenix, you can’t do that; you really can’t.”
Phoenix outshot, outrebounded and beat Seattle inside to record just its second win in its last 12 games against the Storm dating to 2009.
“Shot the ball better, up-tempo game is our game,” Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. “I guess if we walk the ball down the court and play their style, they are better at that than we are. Hopefully we are better at the up-tempo game than they are.”
Diana Taurasi added 26 points for the Mercury.
Game 3 is Monday in Seattle.
“A lot of it was just being aggressive,” said Dupree, who averaged 14.6 points a game during the regular season. “I think as a whole we were really passive up there in Seattle in the first game. This game we attacked a lot more.”
Bird had 17 points and four assists for the defending champion Storm, which had won its last eight postseason games. It was the most points given up by Seattle all season.
“They set the tone early on,” Bird said. “Obviously, we are a defensive-minded team and we were not just helping ourselves.”
Phoenix led by as many as 15, but Seattle ran off 10 straight points to get within five with 4:10 left. It just couldn’t complete the comeback.
At Liberty 87, Fever 72: Nicole Powell scored 19 points, Plenette Pierson had 15, and New York beat Indiana to even their best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Cappie Pondexter scored 14 points, Essence Carson had 12 and Kia Vaughn 10 for the Liberty, which bounced back from a 74-72 loss in Game 1. New York shot 50 percent from the field (30-for-60) and were 20-for-21 on free throws.
Katie Douglas scored 20 points, and Shavonte Zellous had 13 for the Fever. Indiana’s leading scorer, Tamika Catchings, was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.