Mercury Carries On for Victory

Diana Taurasi was sidelined 11 minutes into the game because of a sprained right knee, but her Phoenix Mercury teammates pulled together to defeat the host San Antonio Silver Stars, 66-49, Saturday.

Taurasi landed on a courtside chair as she chased a loose ball. She immediately went to the locker room without assistance and later returned to the bench but didn’t play. The Mercury’s seven-point lead dwindled to two just before the half, but in the second half Phoenix (8-12) pulled away.

“It’s just a sprained knee,” said Taurasi, who sat out a game July 15 after she had initially hurt her right knee. “It should be fine, but it’ll just take a while to heal.”

Penny Taylor, who has averaged 21.3 points during a stretch in which Phoenix has won five of six, had a game-high 22 points against San Antonio (5-17).

Seattle 74, Detroit 71 -- Lauren Jackson wore a brace on the right ankle she had re-injured but scored 21 points to lead the Storm over the Shock at Seattle.

“Certain plays of the game, you could really see where she was trying to fight through it,” Seattle Coach Anne Donovan said of Jackson, who logged 37 minutes for the Storm (12-10).

Jackson said the injury wouldn’t stop her from playing. Four days before, she had re-injured the ankle, which had required surgery before the season.

Deanna Nolan scored 22 points for Detroit (8-11).

Indiana 63, Charlotte 46 -- Ebony Hoffman and Jurgita Streimikyte each scored 13 points at Charlotte, N.C., and the Fever (13-7) limited the Sting (3-18) to a season-worst 27% shooting. Hoffman, a former USC standout, made four of nine shots in her 19 minutes.