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Zellous, Nolan lead Shock past Sky 80-69

Sep 13, 2009 - 3:01 AM CHICAGO(AP) -- Shavonte Zellous scored 20 points and Deanna Nolan added 19 to lead the Detroit Shock to an 80-69 win over Chicago on Saturday night, eliminating the Sky from playoff contention.

Kara Braxton added 14 points and Taj McWilliams 12 for Detroit (18-16), which will play Atlanta in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"We just wanted to come out and play hard," Detroit coach Rick Mahorn said. "I didn't tell them much at halftime. They're a veteran team. They knew what needed to be done, and they did it in the second half."

Candice Dupree had 27 points and seven rebounds for Chicago (16-18), which needed a win to remain in the playoff picture. Washington's win over Atlanta earlier Saturday night gave the Mystics the final postseason spot.

Dupree scored 19 points in the first half, three points shy of Detroit's first-half total as Chicago led 41-22 advantage after 20 minutes.

But the Shock came out strong for the second half, outscoring the Sky 15-4 in the first four minutes. Chicago's Jia Perkins stole the ball and started a run, which Dominique Canty finished to break Detroit's run - for the moment.

The Shock kept closing and finally took the lead with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter. Kristi Toliver sunk a 3-pointer to pull Chicago within one point, but the Shock were able to pull away.

"The first couple of 3s went in and it was all uphill from there," Nolan said. "We were doing all the little things right in the second half."

Canty was the only other Sky player to break into double digits with 10 points.

"Their philosophy was right in the second half," Sky coach Steven Key said. "They knocked them down. Unfortunately, they knocked them all down in a row. We are a very capable team and would have liked to end the season with three straight wins."