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Mercury focusing on defense
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With his team on the verge of leading the league in scoring for a third straight season, Mercury coach Corey Gaines' focus during practice over the Olympic break was almost exclusively on the other end of the court.
"It was like a defense camp," assistant Bridget Pettis said.
Putting defense first may seem like a foreign concept for run-and-gun Phoenix, but as Gaines has said repeatedly this season, "Our defense fuels our offense."
His team's attention to that phase of the game was evident the past two contests, when the Mercury held Minnesota and Sacramento to 36.9 and 29.0 percent shooting, respectively, while blocking 14 shots combined. The efforts resulted in a pair of victories, supplying much-needed oxygen to Phoenix's flickering postseason flame.
If the Mercury are to have any shot at keeping their candle of hope lit, similar defensive results will be needed over the final four games.
That may seem like a lot to ask from a team that was last in opponent field-goal percentage most of the season. However, Phoenix has slowly been improving - six of its last seven opponents have shot under 40 percent - and is now up to ninth in that category.
"It's just effort, being smart and executing it," guard Diana Taurasi said.
Comets at Mercury
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: US Airways Center
TV: FSN Arizona, NBA-TV
Live audio: www.phoenixmercury.com
Records: Houston 14-16, Phoenix 14-16
Series history: Phoenix and Houston have split the first two meetings, with the home team winning each time. Overall, Phoenix trails 17-24 but leads 12-9 at home.
Scouting report: Comets Houston has lost four straight, including Saturday night's home game against Los Angeles. The Comets are a Western Conference-worst 3-12 on the road and 0-2 in the second of back-to-back games. Olympian Tina Thompson leads the team in scoring (17.3) and is second in rebounds (6.8) and assists (2.1).Mercury This is the final home game of the season for Phoenix, which is two games out of a playoff spot with four remaining. A win tonight would give the Mercury the tiebreaker over Houston. As part of Fan Appreciation Night, the first 3,000 fans will receive wristbands and there will be a postgame autograph session with all players.
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