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  Wednesday, Jul. 19 7:30pm ET
Miracle win game, but Powell lost to knee injury
 
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ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Nykesha Sales scored 20 points to lead all five starters in double figures and had a career-high seven assists as the hot-shooting Orlando Miracle remained atop the Eastern Conference with an 88-78 triumph over the Detroit Shock.

Elaine Powell
Elaine Powell is consoled by a teammate after injuring her left knee in the first half of Wednesday's game.

Taj McWilliams added 19 points and 10 rebounds and rookie Cintia Dos Santos had a career-high 17 points for the Miracle, who suffered a setback when second-year guard Elaine Powell went down with a potentially serious left knee injury in the first half and was taken to a hospital.

"It was tough on all of us to see 'EP' go down," Orlando coach Carolyn Peck said. "I know EP and I know she doesn't want to be the center of what happened tonight, she wants to be happy about the win. Elaine is probably the heart of our team."

"I think we're dedicating the rest of the season to EP," Sales added. "We have to come out with a lot of fire and play up to our potential."

Orlando had lost two in a row heading into the All-Star break but defeated Detroit for the second time in 11 days. They entered with a half-game lead over second-place Cleveland and a one-game edge over New York in the East.

"We realize this is the crucial part of the season," Sales said. "We have to bring our game to another level in order to come up with the wins. ... I think all of us realized last year that this is the part of the season that killed us, so we want to change that for this year."

Shannon Johnson chipped in 15 points and Adrienne Johnson 12 to help Orlando match a season-high point total. The Miracle also scored 88 points at Indiana on June 3 and at Utah 10 days later.

Adrienne Johnson nailed an 18-foot jumper from the right corner and a 3-pointer as Orlando scored the final nine points of the first half for a 44-29 cushion.

The Miracle lost second-year guard Elaine Powell, who suffered a potentially serious left knee injury in the first half and was taken to a hospital.

"It was tough on all of us to see 'EP' go down," Orlando coach Carolyn Peck said. "I know EP and I know she doesn't want to be the center of what happened tonight, she wants to be happy about the win. Elaine is probably the heart of our team."

"I think we're dedicating the rest of the season to EP," Sales added. "We have to come out with a lot of fire and play up to our potential."

Claudia Maria Das Neves netted 19 points to lead the Shock, who had won two in a row before the break but lost for the fourth time in their last five road games.

"They came out ready to play tonight," Detroit forward Wendy Palmer said. "They were fired up, they had the energy and emotion, and they got it done."

The Miracle shot nearly 57 percent (37-of-65) to make up for a 36-22 rebounding disadvantage. They established team records for field goals in a game and in a half (19). Orlando's starters combined for 83 points, with Dos Santos tying a team mark with five blocked shots.

While Maria Das Neves was 5-of-9 from the 3-point range, the Shock shot only 40 percent (27-of-67).

 


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RECAPS
Miami 69
Portland 62

Orlando 88
Detroit 78

Phoenix 86
Utah 76

New York 78
Seattle 55