Swish Appeal - 2014 WNBA Playoffs: Phoenix Mercury advance to WNBA Finals with victory over Minnesota LynxBasketball is basketball.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49391/swish-fave.png2014-09-03T12:02:44-04:00http://www.swishappeal.com/rss/stream/58371542014-09-03T12:02:44-04:002014-09-03T12:02:44-04:00Video: View of DT's shot from behind Phoenix bench
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>A view from behind the Phoenix Mercury's bench of Diana Taurasi's half-court shot to end the third quarter during a 96-78 win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40YzyaEWclk">via Rodrigo Izquierdo</a>).</p> <p>After the Phoenix Mercury's win in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals last night, Diana Taurasi spoke to the media about the importance of taking back the momentum of the game from the Minnesota Lynx at the end of the third quarter.</p>
<p>"There's always plays in games that turn the tide," Taurasi said, according to a Mercury release. "For the most part, going into the last couple minutes of the third, they got the momentum... A couple plays turns that. Obviously, BG made plays the whole night. Penny made some huge plays. DB was all over the place on the boards. It's little things like that get you over the hump."</p>
<p>Of course, she left out the biggest play of all: her half-court shot to end the quarter and extend the Mercury's lead to five before what was seemingly shaping up to be a tight fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Mercury coach Sandy Brondello noted how the shot not only got the crowd riled up going into the final period, but also gave her team a confidence boost.</p>
<p>"Well, you see the crowd got into it, and that certainly helps in that situation," Brondello said, according to the release. "But, you know, when anyone makes a big shot like that, you just think, ‘Ok, it's our night.' I just thought, the look in their eyes, we just knew that it was like, ‘Ok, they're good.'"</p>
<p><em>For more on the game and the entire Western Conference Finals series, check out </em><a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results"><em>our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</em></a><em>. </em></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/3/6101819/video-diana-taurasi-half-court-shot-mercury-vs-lynx-game-3Nate P2014-09-03T08:00:03-04:002014-09-03T08:00:03-04:00Mercury's second half run secured trip to Finals
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>The Phoenix Mercury were able to take advantage of the home crowd they worked so hard to achieve during the regular season and coast to a series-clinching victory behind a strong fourth quarter. Scoring 56 points in the paint, the Mercury took advantage of their size to book a trip to the WNBA Finals.</p> <p>The Mercury knew that even though they were coming home to the comfort of their own beds, they were in for a dogfight in a winner-take-all Game 3 in the WNBA Western Conference Finals.</p>
<p>The Mercury continued to attack and take advantage of the one constant in this series -- their height and size difference -- outscoring the Lynx in the paint by 20, 56-36, to grab the first spot in the WNBA Finals.</p>
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<p>After Minnesota tied the game at 67 on a Maya Moore layup with 1:25 left in the third quarter, the Mercury went on an 18-0 run stretching through to the 5:12 mark in the final quarter, creating an 85-67 advantage and Sandy Brondello's squad wasn't looking back. The Lynx were able to put in 11 points over the course of the final five minutes after the game was clearly in hand but the Mercury came out and handled its business.</p>
<p>The Mercury seemed a bit rattled down the stretch of Game 2, picking up technical fouls and fussing with the refs but there was a poise and a focus to the Mercury team on this Tuesday afternoon in Phoenix. 21 assists and putting all five starters in double figures really allowed the Merc to showcase the things that got them to this point. Diana Taurasi played like the greatest player in the world with 31 points --including a 50-foot third quarter buzzer-beating three-pointer-- along with seven assists and five rebounds. Griner worked her way to 22 and 6 but most of all, did a fantastic job of finding players for layups out of the double team, finishing with four assists.</p>
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<h2>The Mercury's shot chart</h2>
<img src="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4967286/WCFG3_medium.jpeg"> </a> <span>Here's a look at the Mercury's shot chart in the fantastic Game 3 win.</span>
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<p>Minnesota did ride the horses that got them here as Moore, Augustus and Whalen all took at least 14 shots. Augustus and Whalen pulled out their best performances of the season, Whalen hitting two threes in a game for the first time in at least two years, finishing with 21 points, 7 boards and 20 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists respectively. Moore was her usual active self for the Lynx but struggled on both ends, missing all five threes, turning the ball over four times and collecting five personal fouls.</p>
<p>Going into the off-season, Cheryl Reeve will want her crew to get healthy. You could see a season's worth of frustration boil over after her team fell behind deep in the fourth quarter and she picked up two technical fouls. She could potentially have at least four players competing with their national teams for the World Championships before heading into play overseas. Minnesota showed they still remain among the WNBA's elite but a lack of size and consistent scoring around the big three spelled doom for the defending champs.</p>
<p>Diana Taurasi's crew, meanwhile, heads to the destination that was desired from the time the team arrived in training camp. This victory adds so much sweetness to the Mercury's run as they had lost their last three Western Conference Finals appearances dating back to 2010 and have struggled with the Lynx for the last four seasons. Getting the proverbial monkey off their back by knocking off the team that's been the thorn in their back goes a long way towards building this team's confidence and focus going forward.</p>
<p>Now that we've gotten the ticket punched for the Western Conference participant -- and congratulations to the Minnesota Lynx organization on a great 2014 season -- who do you see coming out of the East?</p>
<p>A refreshingly young and hungry squad led by Tamika Catchings honed in on one last championship run for retiring head coach Lin Dunn? Or a feisty group of young stars in the making trying to piece together performances as the stress of injury and illness weighs down upon them during crunch time of a short WNBA season?</p>
<p><i>For more on this series, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/3/6100475/mercury-vs-lynx-game-3-WNBA-playoffs-Diana-TaurasiSmoove Friday2014-09-03T00:37:25-04:002014-09-03T00:37:25-04:00Taurasi gets into Beast Mode, leads Merc to Finals
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>Diana Taurasi took over the fourth quarter to lead the Phoenix Mercury to its first WNBA Finals since 2009.</p> <p>The Phoenix Mercury knocked off the Minnesota Lynx, the three-time defending Western Conference Champions, 96-78.</p>
<p>I won't repeat <a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/2/6099865/mercury-vs-lynx-game-3-halftime-score" target="_blank">everything I said in the first half</a>. But despite Phoenix's great shooting inside in the first two quarters, they only shot 1-of-5 from three. That changed in the second half after they made 5-of-8 shots from deep, and still made nearly 59% of their shots overall.</p>
<p>The critical run was from 1:09 in the third quarter, until 5:12 left in the fourth quarter, when the Mercury went on an 18-0 run. This turned the game from a 67-all tie into an 85-67 rout. Diana Taurasi scored the first 13 of her 31 points in that run, including this shot:</p>
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<p>GIF: Diana Taurasi closes the 3rd qtr with a buzzer beater from behind the halfcourt logo <a href="http://t.co/W1uyB4geey">http://t.co/W1uyB4geey</a></p>
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/507008110456614912">September 3, 2014</a>
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<p>And at that point, you knew this site was going to give a certain hashtag:</p>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DTisGod?src=hash">#DTisGod</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HalfCourtShot?src=hash">#HalfCourtShot</a></p>
— Swish Appeal (@SwishAppeal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SwishAppeal/status/507007403800686592">September 3, 2014</a>
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<p>By the time Taurasi scored 13 straight points, I think we had to take it a stretch further:</p>
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<p>This isn’t fair - Diana Taurasi led Phoenix on a 13-0 run making threes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DTisGod?src=hash">#DTisGod</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MakethatHerNewHashtag?src=hash">#MakethatHerNewHashtag</a> I forget the score, Merc’s up <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wnba?src=hash">#wnba</a></p>
— Swish Appeal (@SwishAppeal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SwishAppeal/status/507009777868996609">September 3, 2014</a>
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<p>And finally, even though Taurasi is known as a three point marksman where she was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, she actually scored most of her points in the paint, and at a deadly rate:<a href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4967116/taurasi_final_shot_chart.jpeg" target="_blank"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Taurasi_final_shot_chart_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4967116/taurasi_final_shot_chart_medium.jpeg"></p>
<p>Points in the paint is what also was the X-factor in this game, besides the Phoenix Mercury season ticket holder base of course. Phoenix scored 56 points here, while Minnesota scored 36. That difference is the game right there.</p>
<p>Brittney Griner scored the last five points of that huge 18-0 run, and it was an exclamation point by then.</p>
<p>Yes, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve gave a rant and got ejected from the game, but by then, it was just frustration from what was a really bad offensive showing during that critical 18-0 run Phoenix made, not to mention the entire game. Minnesota went 0-11 during that stretch.</p>
<p>The Mercury will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals after the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky play on Wednesday. Does either team in the East have a shot against Phoenix during this round? Let us know in the comments below.</p>
<p><i>For more on the game and this series, check out <a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results" target="_blank">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/3/6099951/mercury-vs-lynx-game-3-final-score-wnba-playoffs-2014Albert Lee2014-09-02T23:46:25-04:002014-09-02T23:46:25-04:00GIF: Diana Taurasi's halfcourt shot to end the third quarter<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="/rss/stream/5837154">Mercury vs. Lynx Game 3 highlight: Diana Taurasi's halfcourt shot to end the third&nbsp;quarter</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>She made that look entirely too easy.
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<br /><p><i>For more on this series, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p></p></div>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/2/6100337/mercury-vs-lynx-highlight-diana-taurasis-halfcourt-shot-to-end-theNate P2014-09-02T22:59:22-04:002014-09-02T22:59:22-04:00Halftime update: Phoenix leads, 50-42
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<p>20 more minutes before we have our Western Conference representative in the 2014 WNBA Finals.</p> <p>The Phoenix Mercury is beating the Minnesota Lynx, 50-42, and this game to be honest is pretty close to being a blowout, even though Minny has kept it close at times.</p>
<p>In the first quarter, the Mercury shot 65% overall, and made all 10 shots at the rim.</p>
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<p>28-21 <a href="https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury">@PhoenixMercury</a> lead it they shot 65%, 10-10 at the basket - this is why they’re ahead <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WNBAPlayoffs?src=hash">#WNBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="http://t.co/cMYFumgaUW">pic.twitter.com/cMYFumgaUW</a></p>
— Swish Appeal (@SwishAppeal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SwishAppeal/status/506991614624288768">September 3, 2014</a>
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<p>Even after the second quarter, things aren't looking too different and Phoenix is still performing well shooting at the basket:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4966690/merc_2nd_half.jpeg" target="_blank"><img alt="Merc_2nd_half_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4966690/merc_2nd_half_medium.jpeg"></a> <br id="1409712829770"></p>
<p>Leading the way is Brittney Griner, who scored 15 points, and Diana Taurasi who also added 15 more. Both are shooting well over 50%.</p>
<p>As for the Lynx, Lindsay Whalen shot 6-of-9 from the field, and made two three pointers, but besides Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus, there hasn't been too much help otherwise.</p>
<p>If the Lynx can't stop the Merc at the basket, there won't be much to fight for in the second half...</p>
<p><i>For more on this series, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/2/6099865/mercury-vs-lynx-game-3-halftime-scoreAlbert Lee2014-09-02T20:47:32-04:002014-09-02T20:47:32-04:00Brittney Griner's excited about Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="/rss/stream/5837154">Brittney Griner's excited about Game 3 of the Western Conference&nbsp;Finals</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>But... what's up with the St. Louis Cardinals jersey? Isn't it D-Backs territory?</p></p></div>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/2/6099645/brittney-griners-excited-about-game-3-of-the-western-conference-finalsAlbert Lee2014-09-02T14:00:03-04:002014-09-02T14:00:03-04:00Western Conference finals, Game 3: Who ya got?
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>As many expected, the 2014 WNBA Western Conference Finals will come down to a third game. What factors will play the biggest role in determining which team will represent the West in the Finals? Here's my take below. </p> <p>The Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury have been the best two teams in the league all season long and it's fitting that this series goes to a final game.</p>
<p>I'd been waiting for that inevitable run that the Lynx tend to make, especially against the Mercury, and while it didn't really come in any of the other games, it showed in Game 2. The fourth quarter has been key in this series: Minnesota played a strong fourth in the first game and carried that confidence into Game 2 where they pulled away in the fourth. So with this game tonight being for all the marbles, what can each team do to ensure that it's them moving on?</p>
<h4>PHOENIX MERCURY</h4>
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<li>Somewhere between Games 1 and 2, the Phoenix Mercury let the fine line that they were walking disappear. In Game 1, this team did a fantastic job of gang rebounding (allowed only 2 offensive boards in the second half) and ensured that the Lynx were not able to create extra opportunities while forcing both Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore into shots they didn't want to take. Moore became a distributor, team-high 3 assists, and it favored the Mercury while making just two jump shots, one from three point range.. In Game 2? It seemed like the team was looking to pack the paint against this Lynx team. Not a good idea.<br><br>For all the praise she receives, and a lot of it is warranted, Moore's game is based on her beautiful jump shot. Augustus also has a beautiful jump shot and has one of the best mid-range games in the world. Combine that with Lindsay Whalen's jumper falling in Game 2, Phoenix put themselves in a tough spot by allowing these players to gain that confidence. It will be crucial for this team to get back to walking that line of controlling the defensive boards while not packing it in too much and allowing easy jumpers in the third game or they could find themselves watching the rest of the playoffs. The focus should be on great defensive rotation and forcing the ball out of the hands of the MVP like they did in Game 1. </li>
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<li>Against the Minnesota Lynx, Diana Taurasi usually comes out to try and prove a point. This is usually exacerbated when the Mercury travel to Minneapolis as the fans don't like her and they're rooting for her demise, so they're public enemy number 2 in her mind. On Sunday? She became a gunner and took shots that she's certainly capable of making but ones that Minnesota will certainly live with when you consider that a lot of these shots were contested. Now, Penny Taylor was in foul trouble and a lot of the opportunities she normally creates ended up in the hands of Taurasi as a result but she's got to do a better job of using the players on the floor to punish the Lynx as a team - she doesn't have to do it by herself anymore. That was the beauty of this team in the regular season and they need to get back to it. </li>
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<li>If the Mercury want to win this game, Brittney Griner has to be dominant from start to finish. This is the one advantage that never has a chance to swing in the favor of the Lynx and Sandy Brondello needs to make use of that. I don't care whether that dominance is 20 shots, 13 blocks or catching an alley-oop dunk in traffic, but it needs to happen. Griner had a "down game" in Game 2 and still only missed two shots on the way to 14 points and 3 blocks. Those numbers may be fine for a player like Janel McCarville or Dev Peters but for Griner that's not enough of an impact. Those numbers are extremely similar to the numbers she posted across the course of a struggle that was her rookie season. There's no reason to revert to that.<br><br>If Griner's path is going to continue the meteoric rise that we've seen so far, tonight's game has to have her stamp all over it. A portion of this could be tied to the perimeter shooting of the Mercury. So far in the playoffs, the Mercury have come back to Earth from long range hitting just 29% of their 3-point shots. During the regular season, Griner was able to have her way in the paint as Brondello's squad shot 35% from beyond the arc, second best in the league. Knocking down a few threes early could go a long way in terms of putting the Lynx on their heels. </li>
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<h4>MINNESOTA LYNX</h4>
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<li>Captain Whalen to the rescue! Lindsay Whalen has been spectacular for Cheryl Reeve during this conference final series. Whalen has averaged 21 points and 4.5 assists so far against the Mercury. She's been the one constant when this team has looked mediocre and they probably should thank her for them even having a chance in Game 2. Whalen is a fantastic finisher in the paint and her jump shot has been falling which makes her one tough cover.<br><br>Reeve mentioned in Game 2 that the law of averages would eventually allow their jumpers to start falling. Well, those same averages should bring Whalen back to the real world in terms of that knuckle-ball jump shot that she's been hitting. If that does happen, Whalen will need to find other ways to be effective, and it will likely be her putting her head down and bullying her way to the basket, racking up free throw attempts along the way. </li>
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<li>Minnesota will want to continue what they were able to accomplish in Game 2. "The others" for Phoenix were extremely quiet. Penny Taylor was in foul trouble and DeWanna Bonner didn't score a field goal. The MVP runner-up, the 6-foot-8 second-year Defensive Player of the Year, and the smooth operator were able to impact the game on Sunday but Minnesota did a fantastic job of ensuring that they didn't have a repeat of Game 1. In that game, the Lynx were scrambling and looked out of sorts defensively as the Mercury were getting scoring from everywhere on the court. The Lynx will be happy with allowing Erin Phillips to be that next person up in terms of offensive production because if she's on the floor that means one of Taurasi/Taylor/Bonner isn't -- in Game 2 it was Taylor that wasn't -- which means they have effectively eliminated the intangibles those players bring to the table as well.</li>
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<li>When you primarily have your scoring revolve around three players, it usually spells doom --just ask the NBA's Miami Heat. But that gets this Minnesota team going. Whalen is the heartbeat ofthis team. She's the hometown kid and the fans love seeing her fired up. And when Augustus and Moore get into a rhythm making shots it can either be poetry-in-motion or make you sick to your stomach. As these three go, this team goes. Once they're able to put their stamp on the game, the other players have to match that intensity. All of a sudden Monica Wright and Tan White are hitting shots, Rebekkah Brunson is flying through the air. Getting their big guns going and allowing them to carry them is what Minnesota is built on. </li>
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<h4>X-FACTOR</h4>
<p>The referees got involved extremely early in Game 2, calling a phantom charge on Taurasi seven seconds into the game. Now I've been a Taurasi fan an extremely long time so I'm used to the foul or two, per game, that Dee will pick up just because of who she is. The key is going to be how the Mercury respond to the way the game is whistled.</p>
<p>Maya Moore got a lot of credit this season for improving as a defender, but if she got called for the fouls she'd get called for if she wasn't Maya Moore, she wouldn't even be on the floor or in foul trouble as she was in Game 1. So however the game is called, the Mercury will need to keep their composure and focus on what they can control. As bad as the refereeing has been the last few years, as a coach, none of my players are allowed to talk to referees because your job is to play basketball. Hopefully Sandy Brondello is saying these same things to the team as they prepare to go into battle this evening.</p>
<p>Prediction: Home court played a huge role in both games and I think that continues in this game. The house will be packed and the X-Factor fans will be tuned in from the tip. Phoenix should be able to close this game out pretty comfortably. I haven't seen anything to prove me otherwise. Everything that won the game for the Lynx are things the Mercury can fix. Mercury win 2-1</p>
<p><i>For more on this series, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/2/6096517/mercury-vs-lynx-game-3-preview-wnba-playoffs-2014Smoove Friday2014-09-01T11:00:03-04:002014-09-01T11:00:03-04:00Whalen continues fantastic play in Game 2
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<p>2014 MVP Maya Moore scored a playoff career-high 32 points, Lindsay Whalen continued her fantastic play with 17 points and 7 assists and Seimone Augustus hit the free throws late to ensure Minnesota didn't suffer the franchise's first elimination on its home floor. Although the Mercury leave Minneapolis disappointed, there are some things they can build on for Game 3.</p> <p>Heading into Sunday afternoon's Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, both the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury seemed confident they'd be able to make the necessary adjustments.</p>
<p>The Mercury would want to continue most of the Game 1 performance while managing to quell the fourth quarter spurt the Lynx had on Thursday night at the US Airways Center; on the other hand, the Lynx would want to wipe the slate clean and jump out to better start in front of their home crowd.</p>
<p>Although Game 2 was reminiscent of the first outing early on, the third quarter brought a glimpse of what the WNBA's two top offenses like to do best.</p>
<p>The Lynx were able to get Maya Moore a couple open looks from three while Seimone Augustus was able to get to the rim off the bounce. Phoenix, meanwhile, pounded the ball into Brittney Griner and took advantage of the nightly mismatch she provides while Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree filled in the gaps with momentum-stopping buckets.</p>
<p>But after the third quarter ended with Minnesota outscoring Phoenix 20-18 to cut the Phoenix lead to six, the fourth quarter began and Phoenix's worst nightmare materialized.</p>
<h4>A pivotal run to open the fourth quarter<br>
</h4>
<p>The Lynx opened the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run, kick-started by three triples from 2014 MVP to get the home team out and running for the first time in the series. The final three came one possession after a Mercury timeout to give the Lynx a 69-65 lead with 5:57 left in the game. The Mercury played a few good possessions of defense to tie the game up but in the last four minutes, Minnesota had its way.</p>
<p>Cheryl Reeve called veteran Seimone Augustus' number as she collected the ball and was aggressive, getting to the free throw line and making 5 of 7 attempts in the last 3:39. Moore and Brunson knocked down two apiece behind Augustus' final tallies before DeWanna Bonner, who finished 0-for-6, missed a 36-foot three that Taurasi boarded and put-back for the final margin of 82-77. Moore led Minnesota with a playoff-career high 32 points to go along with 9 boards. Augustus had 23 and Whalen 17 to account for 72 of the Lynx's 82 points (or 88% of the team's scoring).</p>
<h4>What the Lynx did well in Game 2</h4>
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<p>What the game came down to for Cheryl Reeve's squad was going back to the basics. This team was built on the basis of their Olympic trio of Whalen, Augustus and Moore, while adding solid pieces to complement their All-World talent. But in Game 2, Minnesota simply took looks away from those complementary pieces (Brunson's shot attempts from 7 to 5 from Game 1 to Game 2, Janel McCarville's from 9 to 3, Monica Wright from 7 to 3) and increased its looks for its Big Three. Moore made five threes on the way to her new playoff career high and Augustus found her way back upwards towards her regular season field goal percentage while making a living at the free throw line (8-10).</p>
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<p>All of this was in conjunction with the continued excellence of homegrown star Lindsay Whalen: after taking 25 shots and being aggressive in Game 1, she followed with another strong performance in Game 2. In the second quarter, Lindsay Whalen continued her fantastic play in the playoffs while MVP Maya Moore finally broke through to put her stamp on this series as the Olympians combined for 21 of the Lynx's 27 total points in the quarter. Whalen finished with a solid 17 points --15 in the first half to keep the defending champs within reach-- and 7 assists,four of which came in the fourth quarter as Moore and Augustus took over.</p>
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<p>Aside from Moore's scoring explosion, the only major differences in the Lynx squad's two games was playing the Mercury almost even on the boards and sharing the ball a bit more.</p>
<h4>What the Mercury can improve for Game 3</h4>
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<p>For the Mercury, Phoenix will be disappointed to have blown a 13 point lead, as they received 23 points, 6 boards and 5 assists from Diana Taurasi. However, Taurasi's 23 came on 23 shots. Dupree chipped in 18 and 9 boards to anchor the Mercury's frontcourt play, but Brittney Griner was a bit frustrated and didn't impact the game as much as she has recently but still finished with 14 points and 3 rejections.</p>
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<h2>The Mercury's shot chart in Game 2</h2>
<img src="http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4957474/WCG2_medium.jpeg"> </a> <span>The Mercury struggled with their shooting efficiency in the fourth quarter (35.3%), but their offensive advantage remained clear on their shot chart for the game.</span>
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<p>When you look at the raw numbers, it shows that Phoenix<i> </i>didn't shoot the ball all that badly.The Mercury dominated in the paint early on by catching Minnesota gambling and setting fantastic screens, finishing the game 18-21 in the paint, and were actually 15-for-15 in the key before a Dupree miss from 8 feet at the 6:04 mark. But their 47.5% shooting from the field hides 4-for-18 (22%) shooting from three by the league's second-best 3-point shooting team.</p>
<p>The Mercury jumped out to leads of 8-1 and 11-3 in the first quarter before settling into a 22-9 advantage behind stellar free throw shooting and 6 points and 3 boards from Candice Dupree. Early on, the Mercury did a fantastic job defensively of keeping the Lynx out of rhythm early on, holding Minnesota to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/31/6090917/mercury-vs-lynx-game-2-score-phoenix-leads">shoot 2-14 in the first quarter</a>. However, their defense showed some cracks in the second half.</p>
<p>Phoenix let Minnesota back into this game by allowing them to get out in transition and score easy buckets for themselves. Minnesota only outscored Phoenix 13-9 in fast break points, but also had 22 points off of 15 Mercury turnovers. It became a domino effect as the crowd got involved and the Olympic trio started to see the basket a bit better.</p>
<p>Going into Game 3, Phoenix will definitely want to be more aggressive in establishing Griner inside. She was still an efficient 6-for-8 from the field and made both her free throws, but she never seemed comfortable and was frustrated all night long, even picking up a technical for jawing with Seimone Augustus in the third quarter. Bonner going 0-for-6 and Taylor spending most of the night on the bench in foul trouble nullified the spark that Erin Phillips brought with 10 points (2 triples), 4 boards and 4 assists in 19 minutes.</p>
<p>Going back home with the X-Factor behind them, the Mercury will have a chance to show what they worked all season to guarantee, albeit not on national television (SOMEBODY FIX THIS!). Meanwhile, Cheryl Reeve's squad is seeing their first real test in a playoff series since losing to Indiana in four in the WNBA Finals in 2012 so it'll be interesting to see how they respond.</p>
<p id="paragraph7" class="pgh-paragraph"><i>For more on the game and the series, check out <a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/8/26/6073113/lynx-vs-mercury-wnba-playoffs-2014-schedule-tv-times-preview-results" target="_blank">our Mercury vs. Lynx storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/9/1/6091169/mercury-vs-lynx-game-2-wnba-playoffs-2014-lindsay-whalen-maya-mooreSmoove Friday