The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 3 games to 2 to win their second WNBA Finals title.
Cappie Pondexter missed a game-winning tip-in at the fourth-quarter buzzer then scored seven of her 23 points in overtime Tuesday night to help the Mercury beat the visiting Fever 120–116 in the highest-scoring game in WNBA history.
Pondexter, frustrated and in foul trouble in the first half, scored the final five points to close out Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
Penny Taylor scored 23 points and newly crowned league MVP Diana Taurasi had 22 for Phoenix.
Katie Douglas tied it with a 3-pointer for Indiana with 7.1 seconds left in regulation, then scored eight in overtime for the Fever to reach a career playoff high 30 points.
Ebony Hoffman had a career-high 27 on 12 of 14 shooting as the Fever set a franchise scoring record in just the second 100-point game in the club's history.
Indiana's Tamika Catchings had just eight points before fouling out with 2:42 left in overtime but harassed Taurasi into a 5 of 17 shooting night.
Rookie DeWanna Bonner's two free throws put Phoenix ahead 105-102 with 14.2 seconds left in regulation, then after a timeout, the Fever got the ball to the open Douglas, who sank the 3 that tied it.
[3] Tamika Catchings fell one rebound shy of the first triple-double in WNBA finals history and the Indiana Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 93–84 to square the best-of-five series 1–1.
The WNBA defensive player of the year for the third time, Catchings also harassed the league MVP Taurasi into a 7-for-22 shooting night.
The Aussie, who scored all 14 of her points in the first half, took an elbow from Indiana rookie Briann January and left with a cut lip with 3:33 to play in the third quarter.
The Mercury struggled on offense two nights after a 120–116 overtime victory in Game 1, the highest-scoring contest in WNBA history.
But Tammy Sutton-Brown responded with a basket inside, then January and Katie Douglas put the game away with free throws.
"In the playoffs, she's stepped up her game and done such big things, especially in the Phoenix series, playing unbelievable, out of her mind," Catchings said.
The final margin irked Phoenix because the Fever got a free throw when Taurasi was called for a technical foul that she didn't agree with.
The Indiana Fever led the WNBA finals series 2–1 and had a chance to clinch their first title in front of an active sellout crowd that included local celebrities such as Indianapolis Colts players Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.
None of that mattered as the Mercury beat the Fever 90–77 on Wednesday night to tie the series and force Game 5 Friday in Phoenix.
Indiana tied the score at 59 on a layup by Catchings with 4:30 left in the third quarter, but Phoenix went on a quick 6–0 run to force a timeout and put the fans, who had been standing in anticipation of a Fever lead, back in their seats.
Indiana trimmed its deficit to 72–68 on a steal and layup by Catchings, but the Fever went cold and the Mercury pulled away with a 12–2 spurt.
Fever coach Lin Dunn was disappointed to lose at home, but focused on the fact that her team still could win the championship.
Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor - who led the team to its 2007 title - did it again in 2009, when the Mercury held off a late rally by the tenacious Indiana Fever for a 94–86 victory in the deciding Game 5.
League and finals MVP Taurasi scored 26 points, Pondexter had 24, and Taylor made two crucial free throws with 37.7 seconds left for the Mercury, who won the last two games to take the intense series 3–2.
When it was over, the three hugged in elation, and Taylor - the Australian who joined the team Aug. 1 after reconstructive ankle surgery - broke down in tears.
Indiana rallied from 10 down in the second half to tie it at 80 on Sutton-Brown's layup with 4:29 to play, then Tangela Smith made two 3-pointers, her only field goals of the night, to put the Mercury ahead for good.