WNBA Playoffs: Will Scoreboard Continue To Explode?

(Guru's Notes: This is the AP advance of Thursday's game. Doug Feinberg's coverage of Olympic training camp is just above this post.

  The Guru in mentioning awards early this week forgot about the coach of the year, which will be presented before the start of Game 2. It was a wide open race this year with several outstanding jobs, but if Indiana's Lin Dunn was getting the award, one would think the league would wait until Sunday when the series moves to Indianapolis. Marynell Meadors, who led the second-year Atlanta Dream to a second-place finish in the East and a playoff berth would be a top contender, as might Phoenix's Corey Gaines for turning in the league's best record.)

  -- Mel Greenberg

By Bob Baum

 AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX  — The Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever have a tough act to follow in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

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.

"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."

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.

Phoenix coach Corey Gaines tried to paint his team as one "with a chip on our shoulder."

"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."

It's hard to believe anyone didn't care for the way the teams played in Tuesday night's opener, the highest-scoring game in WNBA history.

Everyone expected Phoenix to play at breakneck speed, but the Fever matched that tempo.

"They kind of hurt us with our own medicine at some points of the game," Taurasi said.

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.

"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."

Still, the Fever tied it on Katie Douglas' 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds to go to send the game into overtime.

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.

"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."

Douglas traced the Fever's defensive problems to being accustomed to the slower play in the Eastern Conference.

"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.

The Fever like the up-tempo game, too, she said.

"But we need now to recognize when to pull it back and make them work defensively as well," Douglas said.

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.

"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."

Besides, Gaines said, the Mercury can only be slowed down so much.

"I don't want to see 75-72," he said. "That's not our style."

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.

"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."

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.

While the place was loud, there still were many empty seats.