Mercury-Fever Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Jun 27 2011 3:02PM

The Phoenix Mercury needed a wild second-half comeback to get their first victory of the season earlier this month against Indiana. They haven't slowed down since.

Phoenix looks to extend its winning streak to five in Tuesday night's road game against the Fever, who have bounced back with three straight victories since falling in overtime to the Mercury.

Nothing went right for Phoenix as it opened the season with three consecutive losses, including a two-point defeat to San Antonio on June 17 in which it blew a 16-point lead.

It looked like the Mercury (4-3) might be headed for another loss two days later, but this time they came from behind. With her team trailing by 12 late in the third quarter to the Fever, Diana Taurasi scored 17 of her 32 points the rest of the way to lift Phoenix to a 93-89 overtime win.

"It felt like Game 5 of the finals, and that's how we are going to have to treat every game," Taurasi said afterward, referencing her team's decisive victory over Indiana (6-3) to win the 2009 WNBA title.

The Mercury have certainly adopted Taurasi's sense of urgency over the past week. They moved to 3-0 on their four-game trip with an 86-78 win at Chicago on Saturday.

"This road trip we really got it together," said forward Penny Taylor, who's averaged 22.0 points over the past three games. "I feel like we found our legs again and are running more, and we're feeling really positive about that."

More running has led to some considerably better looks at the basket. Phoenix has shot 50.7 percent during the road swing after shooting 42.2 percent in its first four contests.

The Mercury haven't won five in a row since a six-game run July 1-18, 2009, and getting to five Tuesday won't be easy. The Fever's winning streak since the OT loss to Phoenix hit three with a 78-75 victory over Minnesota on Sunday, as Katie Douglas led the way with 22 points.

Douglas said it was Indiana's defensive adjustments at the half - after the Lynx had outscored it 13-2 in transition - that made the difference.

"When we get in our half-court defense we have an extreme amount of confidence that we can get stops,'' said Douglas, who totaled 12 points in her previous two games. "We don't have a lot of confidence when the other team is running the ball down our throat.

"We definitely came in at halftime, made an adjustment and cleaned up the transition.''

Pace could be key Tuesday, but Indiana should feel comfortable matching Phoenix's up-tempo style despite coming up short June 19. The Fever averaged 107.0 points in sweeping last season's series behind 26.5 points per game from Tamika Catchings.

Douglas, Davenport lead Fever past Mercury

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Jun 28 2011 9:19PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Katie Douglas scored 26 points and Jessica Davenport added a career-high 25 to help the Indiana Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 91-86 on Tuesday night.

Tamika Catchings added 14 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks for the Fever (7-3), who won their fourth straight. Douglas made six 3-pointers and had six assists, and Davenport made 10 of 11 field goals and didn't miss until the final minute of the game.

The excitement was tempered because starting point guard Briann January went down clutching her right knee early in the fourth quarter.

Diana Taurasi scored 15 points for Phoenix, but she shot 5 for 14 from the field and had five turnovers. DeWanna Bonner also scored 15 points for the Mercury (4-4).

• Mercury: --
• Fever: --

• Mercury: --
• Fever: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #18 Kurt Walker, #13 Cameron Inouye, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 6625
• Duration: 1:48