Taurasi, Mercury have to ‘protect home court’ in Game 3 vs. Storm
During Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals on Tuesday, Diana Taurasi validated the opinions of many who call her the “GOAT,” an acronym for “Greatest of All-Time,” when it comes to professional women’s basketball.
Although Taurasi willed her team back from a 19point deficit and made an off-balance three-point shot in the final seconds to force the game to overtime, the Phoenix Mercury still find themselves in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series.
The silver lining is that the Mercury will return to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday after the Seattle Storm took the first two games at KeyArena. If necessary, Game 4 would also be in Phoenix while Game 5 would be in Seattle.
“We have to protect our home court,” Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello said. “Seattle did what they were supposed to do and that was to protect their home court. Now we have to go in and protect our home court. It’s as simple as that.”
The return to Talking Stick Resort Arena couldn’t come at a better time for the Mercury, who have been on the road for most of the playoffs.
After defeating the Dallas Wings in a first-round, one-game elimination contest on Aug. 21, the Mercury flew to Connecticut for the second one-game elimination matchup with the Sun just two days later.
The Mercury then had to fly to Seattle for the first game of the semifinals on Sunday, and only just returned to Arizona for practice on Thursday in downtown Phoenix.
Taurasi said it should be “invigorating” to play in front of the home crowd again.
“It’s huge,” Taurasi said of returning home. “It seems like we’ve been on the road for the last two months and playing in hostile environments. And we relish that, but it’s nice to be home and the fans have been great all year.”
The Mercury don’t seem to be the only ones excited about their return to home court, as Suns guard Devin Booker purchased 500 tickets to Friday’s game and will be handing them out to fans.
Taurasi said the Mercury will have to do a better job at defending the Storm’s two-pronged offensive onslaught of league MVP Breanna Stewart and threepoint specialist Sue Bird.
But now, with her team’s back up against a wall, Brondello expects Taurasi to do some damage.
“That’s why they call her the GOAT,” Brondello said of Tautasi. “She is the GOAT. She excels in those moments and lives for those moments. She wants those shots and she makes those shots. I don’t think anyone does it as well as her.
“She may miss a few at the start, but when it comes to crunch time, she knows how to put the ball in the hole.”
FRIDAY’S GAME
Seattle Storm at Phoenix Mercury
Game 3 of WNBA semifinals 7 p.m. Talking Stick Resort Arena ESPNews, NBA TV
The Mercury are back home to host the Seattle Storm for the third game of a best-of-five series, with the winner advancing to the WNBA Finals. … The Storm hold a 2-0 series advantage after winning both games at KeyArena in Seattle on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively, by the same score, 91-87, although Game 2 went to overtime. … League MVP Breanna Stewart scored 28 points in Game 1 and added 27 in Game 2. .. Mercury guard Diana Taurasi posted a game-high 28 on Tuesday. … Stewart led the WNBA in scoring with 27.5 points per game and Taurasi finished third with 26.5. … On Sunday, Taurasi became the all-time leading scorer in WNBA playoff history.
Still, Brondello said it will take a more complete team effort to get the Mercury back in this series. She said the scoring must come from other places besides Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner.
“We’ve got some champion players,” Brondello said.
“But we need the whole team and we can’t just rely on Diana, Brittney and (DeWanna). We’ve shown that in a lot of the minutes we’ve played in this playoff this year. We’ve got to show it tomorrow because it’s winor-go-home, and we don’t want to go home.”
Taurasi agreed with that statement and said the Mercury have no choice but to take it one quarter at a time on Friday.
“It has to be a small task as fas as we can’t feel overwhelmed about having to win three in a row,” Taurasi said.
“We can’t do that. It’s 40 minutes of basketball and we have to start with a solid first quarter. They’re a really good team and we know that, but we have a good enough team to come out here tomorrow night and play well.”
Brondello said she expects the crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Friday to best the atmosphere at KeyArena in the previous two games in the series. She said it could play a pivotal role in the momentum of the game.
“I want us to get energy from them coming out of the gate,” Brondello said. “And if we need more energy, hopefully they’re picking us up back into the game. Seattle had a great crowd, but I think our crowd is going to be bigger and louder and that’s what we’re going to need.
“Our backs are against the wall, but anything’s possible. We’ve got the players to do it.”