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Fever on doorstep of 1st WNBA title

Oct 20, 2012 - 3:16 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Shavonte Zellous had a career-high 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, powering the Indiana Fever in a 76-59 blowout of the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.

Tamika Catchings scored 17 points and Erin Phillips supplied 13 points for the Fever, who are one win away from securing the franchise's first title. They'll look to wrap up the best-of-five series Sunday in front of their adoring fans.

"What we need to do is start the game like we started the game tonight, with the effort, the intensity, the energy," said Indiana coach Lin Dunn. "It all starts on the defensive end and that's what we have to do."

The Indiana faithful were treated to a dominating performance Friday night.

When Karima Christmas hit a driving layup with 1:58 remaining in the third quarter, the Fever went up 70-33, setting a WNBA Finals record for largest margin at 37 points.

With the game's outcome seemingly decided, Indiana let up on the gas. The defending champs outscored the Fever 21-6 in the final frame.

Indiana, once again, played without guard Katie Douglas because of a sprained left ankle.

Rebekkah Brunson was the lone Lynx player to reach double-digits in points, finishing with 12. Maya Moore was limited to eight points.

"It's hard when you're not playing well and you're not helping your team," Moore said. "So collectively as a starting group, we're going to come together and make sure that we respond better next time."

Minnesota got off to a promising start, leading 12-8 when Lindsay Whalen nailed a 3-pointer. Indiana countered with an 11-0 run and led by five after the first quarter.

The Fever's advantage ballooned to 21 on a Zellous trey late in the second quarter.

Minnesota registered only one assist in the first half and trailed 45-27 at the break.

The Lynx's Taj McWilliams-Franklin opened the scoring in the second half with a layup, but Indiana followed with 16-0 surge to transform the game into a laugher.