Gritty playoff semifinals are all even

UNCASVILLE, CONN. » The WNBA semifinal playoff series are knotted at a game apiece and both could go the full five games based on the historic and gritty performances thus far.

Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury put on a shooting clinic as they scored the most points in a regulation playoff game in the league’s 25-year history in a win over Las Vegas on Thursday night. Eight months after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles’ tendon Alyssa Thomas provided a spark for the Connecticut Sun in a victory over the Chicago Sky.

Both series are now tied at 1-1 and play will shift to Chicago and Phoenix for the next set of games scheduled to tip off on Sunday.

“We brought a different mindset to the game, an aggression,” said Taurasi, who had a career playoff-high 37 points in the 117-91 victory. “That’s what these games come down to. In Game 1, they were the aggressors. They played more physical. Today we did that and sustained that for long periods.”

Taurasi barely missed despite dealing with an ankle injury that forced her to sit out the final four regular season games and the playoff opener against New York. She hit 10 of her 13 shots and made a careerhigh eight 3-pointers.

Her performance came shortly after Thomas had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and provided a defensive lift for the Sun to even their series with Chicago. Thomas’ game was even more remarkable as she had returned two weeks earlier from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon injury she suffered in January. The 7968 win over Chicago was only her fourth game back.

“You know, this is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through,” Thomas said of the injury.