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Shock-Liberty Preview

Aug 18, 2010 - 7:57 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Tulsa (5-27) at New York (20-11), 7:30 p.m. EDT

A stunning franchise-record winning streak has the New York Liberty on the brink of gaining a share of first place in the Eastern Conference.

The Liberty could make that happen Thursday night, looking to avoid a major letdown and win a 10th game in a row when they host the league-worst Tulsa Shock.

New York (20-11) has turned around its season by winning nine straight and 13 of 15 since last month's All-Star break, clinching a playoff berth.

The surge has put the Liberty one-half game behind conference-leading Indiana with a game in hand. Those teams split the season series, but New York can claim the East's top seed by winning its final three games because it would finish with a better conference record than the Fever.

The Liberty gained the edge in that tiebreaker thanks to their 78-57 victory over Indiana on Tuesday. That came three nights after New York set a team record for points with a 107-69 win over Phoenix, the reigning league champion.

"It's still tough, it's not over with," said guard Cappie Pondexter, tied with Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry for second in the league at 21.1 points per game. "We just got to continue to stay focused and not get too high. One day at a time."

The Liberty are outscoring opponents by an average of 11.6 points during the win streak and appears to be in ideal position to keep it going with a home game against Tulsa (5-27).

New York beat the Shock 92-78 on June 25, and Tulsa has lost five in a row by an average of 21.2 points. The Shock were routed again Tuesday, 90-62 at Connecticut to lose for the 10th time in 11 games.

Shoddy defensive play has been a major problem all season for Tulsa. The club allows 90.2 points per game, ranking ahead of only the Mercury (94.6).

While Tulsa struggles defensively, the Liberty are showing some scoring depth.

Pondexter was held to 13 points Tuesday, but guard Leilani Mitchell had 19 and center Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell scored a season-high 20 against the Shock in June.

Tulsa's Scholanda Robinson will try to build on her 18-point performance against the Sun. The guard had 14 points in the last meeting with New York and is averaging a career-high 11.9 on the season.

While the Shock conclude their season against Chicago on Saturday, the Liberty visit Washington on Friday before hosting Connecticut on Sunday.