Mercury denies Shock

PHOENIX -- With the poor-shooting Phoenix Mercury on the verge of elimination, Coach Paul Westhead decided to run the offense through Cappie Pondexter.

It was a wise move.

Pondexter scored a game-high 26 points, including a driving bank shot with 21 seconds to play, and the Mercury defeated the Detroit Shock, 77-76, on Thursday night to force a deciding fifth game in the WNBA finals.

The finale is Sunday afternoon in Auburn Hills, Mich.

“I’m a winner,” said Pondexter, an All-Star in each of her first two seasons. “When the game’s on the line, I feel like I can win every time.”

Now the Mercury will try to become the first team in WNBA history to win a title on the road.

Detroit, which won championships in 2003 and 2006, goes home to the Palace of Auburn Hills, where it is 5-1 this postseason. The only loss was a 28-point rout by the Mercury in Game 2.

Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer said his team was doomed by 18 turnovers, many against a zone defense.

“You have to be more focused than that,” Laimbeer said. “If we had been taking care of the ball, we would be celebrating right now. But we didn’t and we move on and play another game.”

Plenette Pierson, a former Mercury player, scored 23 points in a reserve role for Detroit.

Diana Taurasi had 20 points for the Mercury, which has not lost consecutive games since the two games before the All-Star break.

Detroit had a final chance to win, but Shannon Johnson missed a 12-footer at the buzzer.