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NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Liberty's 19-0 first-half run
forced another game. The Cleveland Rockers' strong second half gave
them hope for the finale on Monday night.
|  | | New York's Tari Phillips (24) shoots over Cleveland's Chasity Melvin (28) and Rushia Brown on Sunday. |
"It was two entirely different games in the first and second
halves," Liberty coach Richie Adubato said Sunday after his team
held on for a 51-45 victory that evened the best-of-three WNBA
playoff series 1-1. "I feel confident about tomorrow because
there's no question the fans help us with our emotion and
determination, but I'm concerned with the way we let down in the
second half."
Tamika Whitmore had the first two baskets and the last two
during New York's 10-minute run that turned a 7-5 deficit into a
24-7 lead for the Liberty, who lost the best-of-three series opener
56-43.
"We came out very intense and very aggressive, controlled the
backboards and were able to get out and run and get some easy
baskets," Adubato said of the first half. "They outrebounded us
by 10 in the second half and had eight offensive rebounds, so we
weren't able to run, and consequently we only scored 15 points in
the second half."
The Liberty, who have won 12 straight at Madison Square Garden,
play host for the Eastern Conference series finale Monday night.
The winner advances to the WNBA Finals against Houston, which has
won all three league titles, twice defeating New York in the final
round.
Becky Hammon led the Liberty with 13 points, Tari Phillips
scored 12 and Whitmore finished with 10. Merlakia Jones led
Cleveland with 18 points, and Chasity Melvin had 10.
Jones led the Rockers' second-half turnaround scoring 14 points
on 6-for-11 shooting after missing three of her four shots in the
first half.
"I tried to do the little things and go to the basket more,"
Jones said. "I think we have a great chance tomorrow night. I
don't think our first half was anything they did to us, and we
showed that in the second half."
The Rockers, trailing by 19 at halftime, started the second half
with an 8-2 spurt to make it 37-25, and a 6-0 run closed them to
45-36 with 6:47 left.
But Hammon responded with a jumper and a steal that led to a
layup by Vickie Johnson, giving New York a 49-36 advantage with
5:51 remaining
A 3-pointer by Jones closed the Rockers to 51-43 with 1:53 left,
but they missed three 3-pointers down the stretch and managed just
one more basket with 8.7 seconds to go.
"We got the advantage because we're playing at home, and we're
very tough to beat at home," Hammon said. "It's our territory and
we're not gong to let anybody come in here and steal something from
us."
Cleveland made its first two field-goal attempts and its last
four of the first half, but in between, the Rockers missed 17
straight. They went 14½ minutes, from 18:52 left to 4:42 to go in
the half, without a basket.
"I think it was more our offense than their defense that caused
it," Rockers coach Dan Hughes said. "We needed a more assertive
attitude. We were a little anxious, playing a little too fast."
The Liberty, who led 36-17 at halftime, outrebounded Cleveland
16-14 in the first half, but the Rockers had a 20-10 rebounding
margin in the second half.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
RECAPS
New York 51
Cleveland 45
Houston 74
Los Angeles 69
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Becky Hammon feeds Tari Phillips on the fast break.
avi: 457 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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