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Mercury-Silver Stars Preview

Aug 2, 2010 - 10:24 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Phoenix (12-13) at San Antonio (10-15), 8:00 p.m. EDT

First place in the Western Conference may be out of reach, but Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury have been presented with a key chance to begin solidifying second.

The WNBA's top scorer looks to lead the reigning league champions to a sixth win in seven games as they open a home-and-home set with a visit to the San Antonio Silver Stars on Tuesday night.

The Mercury (12-13) have put together a strong stretch with five wins in six games after beating Chicago 97-96 Sunday. The surge has moved Phoenix into second in the West, two games ahead of the third-place Silver Stars (10-15).

A sweep of San Antonio would give the Mercury the inside track to claim the No. 2 seed in the West playoffs, as Seattle has already clinched the conference title.

Taurasi, the league's leader with 24.0 points per game, is doing her part to keep the Mercury hot.

The guard-forward is averaging 29.8 points over the last six games, including a 35-point effort against the Sky after sinking two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to clinch the win.

Taurasi scored 39 points and added seven assists and three steals in the last meeting with San Antonio, but Phoenix fell 108-105 at home June 18.

The Mercury have lost their last five visits to San Antonio, including Game 1 of last year's conference semifinals as Taurasi was held to 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

The Silver Stars are also eying second place in the conference, and are in position for a season-high three-game winning streak after Becky Hammon scored 22 points in a 101-85 win at Tulsa on Friday.

The seven-time All-Star guard had averaged 10.2 points over her previous five games.

"The most important thing is we're playing well," Hammon said. "I've been struggling the last couple of games, so it is nice to get back and get my feet under me a little bit and knock down some shots."

Hammon, averaging 14.0 points and a team-high 5.1 assists, had 21 points and 10 assists against Phoenix in June. She scored 18.3 points per game in the three-game playoff series in September.

The conference rivals meet again at Phoenix on Friday before concluding the regular season in San Antonio on Aug. 22.