Auburn Hills, MI - Diana Taurasi poured in 30 points, drilling 7-of-14 three-pointers as the Phoenix Mercury routed the Detroit Shock, 98-70, in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, evening the series at a game apiece.
After combining with Detroit for the highest-scoring game in WNBA Finals history in Game 1, a 108-100 Shock victory, Phoenix lit up the scoreboard again, tying the WNBA Finals record for largest margin of victory.
Tangela Smith scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Cappie Pondexter added 18 points for Phoenix. Kelly Miller finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for the Mercury, who will look to take a 2-1 lead when the series moves to Phoenix Tuesday.
'It's huge,' said Taurasi of the blowout. 'No matter what, in any series you want to get at least get one on the road. And Detroit is a tough place to play at. They play really well here and the crowd gets into it.'
Deanna Nolan scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Shock, who struggled from the field, shooting only 27-of-82 (33 percent) from the field, and a dismal 3-of-20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc. Swin Cash, with 10 points, was the only other Shock player to record double-figures in scoring.
The Mercury held 31-point lead after a Jennifer Lacy layup that put Phoenix up 98-67, but the Shock managed to make three free throws in the last 42 seconds to keep from falling by the single-largest margin in WNBA Finals history.
'For who knows whatever, we had -- agendas is the wrong word, we had attitudes and in many different camps today,' said Detroit head coach Bill Laimbeer. 'Coaches coached a bad game, we had wrong combinations out there sometimes. We had probably wrong defenses sometimes. And the players put their heads down and stopped playing. That can't happen.'
Phoenix edged out a seven-point lead after the first quarter, and pulled away in the second, taking a 48-32 lead into the break.
The Mercury blew the Shock off the court in the third quarter, outscoring Detroit 31-19 in the frame to take a 79-51 edge into the final quarter.
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