Shock wins to force a decisive Game 3

The Detroit Shock always makes things hard on itself.

Luckily for Bill Laimbeer’s team, it has the talent to pull it off.

The defending WNBA champions got 24 points from Deanna Nolan and evened the Eastern Conference finals at 1-1 with a 77-63 win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Shock is 6-0 when facing elimination in the last two postseasons, and will look to make it 7-0 in the series finale at home tonight.

“We love playing with our backs against the wall,” said Nolan, who had 15 points in the second quarter. “That’s when our energy gets going.”

Detroit won its second-round series in three games last season, then won the last two games of the finals to beat Sacramento. This year, they lost Game 1 of the first round in New York by 20 before winning the next two games at home.

“We played all year to make sure that we’d get to play tomorrow’s game at home,” Laimbeer said.

Detroit had five players in double figures, including Swin Cash, who had 12 points and nine rebounds after being benched for a poor effort in Game 1.

Most important for Detroit, All-Star Cheryl Ford had to play only 22 minutes on a bad knee.

“That was big,” Laimbeer said. “I wanted to buy her as much time for tomorrow as possible.”

MISCELLANY

Tasha’s Miracle out of Del Mar Debutante

Tasha’s Miracle, winner of the Grade III Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 8 at Del Mar and the likely favorite for today’s Grade I $250,000 Del Mar Debutante, was withdrawn from the race Sunday by trainer John Sadler.

“She tied up a little [Saturday] after training,” Sadler said, adding that the 2-year-old filly now would be pointed toward the $250,000 Oak Leaf on Sept. 29 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.

The ultimate goal continues to be a run in the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park Oct. 27, Sadler said.

Also, Medici Code clinched honors as the outstanding 3-year-old of the Del Mar season with a decisive victory in the $400,000 Del Mar Derby at a mile and one-eighth over the infield Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

-- Larry Stewart

Esteban Solari scored two goals, including one in injury time, as Pumas beat Jaguares, 2-1, at Mexico City to end a streak of 14 Mexican league games without a victory.

Before this year, Pumas had a similar streak that ended after 12 games in the 1989-90 season.

In Veracruz, Uruguayan Richard Nunez scored two goals as Cruz Azul defeated the Red Sharks, 4-1.

In Puebla, Alvaro Gonzalez scored two times to help Puebla beat Tecos, 3-0, in the first game with Cesar Luis Menotti as their coach.

In other matches, America got a 2-1 win over Atlas, Morelia beat Monterrey, 2-1, Guadalajara defeated Tigres, 1-0, and Pachuca destroyed San Luis, 4-1. Also, Atlante drew a 2-2 tie against Santos as both teams remained undefeated.

The United States won the women’s eights race and Canada took the men’s version on the final day of the world rowing championships at Munich.

The United States led from the start to defend its women’s title in 6 minutes 17.20 seconds. Romania was second in 6:18.33, and Britain took bronze in 6:19.66.

An Australian women’s team led by Libby Lenton broke the 400-meter relay freestyle world short-course record Sunday at the national swimming championships at Melbourne.

Lenton, Alice Mills, Shayne Reese and Melanie Schlanger finished in 3 minutes 31.66 seconds, taking 1.66 seconds off the mark set by the Netherlands at last year’s FINA world short-course championships in Shanghai.

Colombia’s Ricardo “Mochuelo” Torres successfully defended his World Boxing Organization junior-welterweight title, stopping American Kendal Holt in the 11th round at Bogota, Colombia

Referee Yino Rodriguez stopped the fight after Torres, who was down in the judges’ cards, was hitting Holt almost at will.

PASSINGS

Former Globetrotters coach Ellington, 69

Russell Ellington, whose career coaching basketball included a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters, has died at Savannah, Ga. He was 69.

Ellington had a record of 894-212 at Savannah State College, Savannah Tech and Morris Brown. Ellington toured with the Globetrotters from 1984 to 1993.