WNBA playoffs: Tamika Catchings helps Fever beat Sky to force Game 3 in East semis

The Indiana Fever finally found a way to beat the Chicago Sky, just in time to prolong their season.

Tamika Catchings scored 22 points to help the Fever hold off the Sky 89-82 Saturday night in Indianapolis and force a deciding Game 3 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Fever lost all four regular season meetings with the Sky and the opener of this series.

Catchings scored six points down the stretch as Indiana outscored Chicago 12-4 over the final 5:35 to even the best-of-three series.

“Our focus down the stretch was magnified,” Catchings said. “We executed offensively and defensively. Everybody zoned in. You could see it in their eyes. The first game we were so tense, like we wanted win the game so bad and everybody wanted to win it and down the stretch we just kind of fell apart a little bit.”

Catchings also helped limit WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne to 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting. Courtney Vandersloot scored 19 points and Allie Quigley had 14 for the Sky.

Shavonte Zellous had 16 points and Briann January added 14 for the Fever.

Phoenix 91, Tulsa 67: Brittney Griner had 23 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the defending champion Mercury beat the Shock in Tulsa to advance to the Western Conference finals.

Monique Currie scored 11 points and Candice DuPree added 10 for the Mercury, who swept the opening-round series.