2015 WNBA Finals Game 2: Lynx even series, defeat Fever 77-71

Minnesota

• Minnesota took its first lead of the second half at 56-54 with 3:51 remaining in the third (first lead since 39-37 with 20 seconds left in the second quarter) – it never trailed again after taking that lead.
• Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles (21 points) notched double-figure points for the second straight finals game and her fifth over seven postseason contests in 2015.  It also marked her second consecutive 20 point or more scoring effort in the Finals.
• Minnesota’s Maya Moore’s 19 points marked her seventh straight game with double-figure points in the 2015 postseason.
• Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus 11 points represented her fifth game with double-figure points this postseason.
• Minnesota’s Rebekkah Brunson moved into third place among WNBA postseason rebound leaders at 443 – surpassing Taj McWilliams-Franklin (442).
• Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen entered tonight’s Game 2 having played in 17 WNBA Finals games.  She broke a tie with Taj McWilliams-Franklin (17) to gain sole possession of second place among WNBA all-time leaders in that category with her current total of 18.

Indiana

• Indiana’s Tamika Catchings tied Taj McWilliams-Franklin for the most postseason games played in WNBA history at 64 after tonight’s Game 2 start.
• Indiana’s Erlana Larkins (123) moved into sixth place past Cheryl Miller (120) on the WNBA’s all-time postseason offensive rebound list.
• Indiana’s Briann January 17 points marked her second straight Finals game in double-figure scoring and her third double-digit scoring effort this postseason.
• Indiana matched a WNBA-Playoffs record 16-of-16 at the foul line in Game 1 and shot 14-of-15 in Game 2 – combining to hit 30-of-31 in two games of the Finals. Catchings has hit 12 consecutive FTs in two games, January has hit all eight attempts.
• Catchings 11 points marked her fourth straight postseason game with double-figure points and has tallied double-digit scoring in seven-of-eight postseason games in 2015.
• Catchings picked up a fifth foul for just the sixth time in her 64-game playoffs history. She has fouled out just twice, the last being Game 1 of the 2009 Finals at Phoenix (in overtime).
• Indiana’s Natasha Howard scored six points, all in the second quarter. The last time she scored at least six points was Sept. 1 at Connecticut. She scored 6 or more points just six times in the regular season.
• Briann January scored 17 points after netting a playoffs season-high 19 in Game 1. Her 36 combined points in two Finals games is the second-best two-game output in her playoffs career (40 in Gms 2 & 3 2012 ESF vs. Atlanta).
• Shenise Johnson reached double-figure scoring with 10 points. She has scored in double figures in seven-of-eight games in the playoffs.

By the Numbers

Box score
Points in the Paint: Fever 26, Lynx 40
Second Chance Points: Fever 8, Lynx 21
Fastbreak Points: Fever 8, Lynx 14
Biggest Lead: Fever 10, Lynx 8
Lead Changes: 7
Times Tied: 4
Attendance: 12,134 (Sellout)

Another great game between the Fever and the Lynx.  I think we learned some things and showed some grit, obviously.  Indiana was going for it.  They’re kind of the knockout, trying to get that second win on the road.  I appreciated our resilience.

Saw some things that we can do better, no doubt, especially in crunch time.  We’d like to get some shots and not turn the darn thing over and help us get separation.  They’re terrific in executing, I mean, just terrific.

Lindsay Whalen

Q: You were more aggressive tonight. Is that a decision that you made coming into the game or the game came to you that way?

Whalen: I definitely came out aggressive. A couple shots I probably got too deep in the lane but it was an aggressive game and I had an aggressive mindset. We came out and really made plays and were able to get things done.

Q: There was a stretch in the 4^th Quarter where they went a little over 5 minutes without scoring a field goal. Can you talk about your team’s defense?

Whalen: Yeah, it was awesome. We pressured up, guards got pressure and it was great team ball. It was a lot of fun to do whatever you could, people were flying around getting loose balls and it was the way we have played throughout the year and it was really fun to be a part of the game tonight and the win.

Well, I guess first and foremost I learned a valuable lesson today.  I learned that it pays to go public with comments about officials.  Who would have known that?  Because this game was a blood bath.  I’ve never seen a player of Tamika Catchings caliber get so disrespected in my life, never. And to me, that’s a travesty.  That’s a travesty.

We knew we had to do a better job on the boards.  We didn’t do that in the first half.  We had to take care of the paint; we didn’t do that.  We stopped Catchings, pretty much like a Lindsay Whalen because we weren’t getting calls, right?  So one up for the veteran, and a lesson learned for the rookie.

Marissa Coleman

Q: You guys had a stretch of a little over 5 minutes in the 4^th Quarter where you didn’t score a field goal. Can you talk about their defense and how it may have disrupted what you wanted to do offensively?

Coleman: We just have to do a better job executing. I think we got away from what made us successful. We stopped moving the ball and we stopped attacking. We have to go back, look at the film and be ready for Friday.

Q: You guys get to go back to Indiana with the series tied, how does it feel?

Coleman: I’m excited. We get to go back and play in front of the best fans in the league. It will probably be a sold-out crowd, so we’re excited to play, excited to get back and play on our home court.

Erlana Larkins, Indiana Fever

Q: You guys had a stretch of a little over 5 minutes in the 4^th Quarter where you didn’t score a field goal. Can you talk about their defense and how it may have disrupted what you wanted to do offensively?

Larkins: I’m not going to say it was their defense, I think we just weren’t patient enough on offense. We sped up and didn’t stay true to the things that helped us get the lead, which was moving the ball, setting screens, playing multiple actions and we took quick shots. We also had five turnovers in a row. We were playing too fast and I think that’s what happened down the stretch.

Q: On a more positive note, you go back to Indiana with the series tied, how does it feel?

Larkins: We’re excited. We did what we came here to do, unfortunately we let this one slip away. We would have liked to have won both games here but the idea was to take one on the road and we did that. Now we have to go back home and take care of business because we don’t want to come back here.