Wheat Hotchkiss previews tonight’s decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx
WNBA Finals, Game 5
Series Tied, 2-2

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Time: 8:00 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Target Center (Minneapolis, MN)
Television: ESPN2
Radio: 107.5 FM
Webcast: Live webcast and stats can be accessed via WNBA Live Access on FeverBasketball.com. (Webcasts during games televised on FOX Sports Indiana may not be available in local market areas due to blackout restrictions.)

Storylines & Promotion

• Facing elimination in all three playoff series, the Fever are now 5-0 in elimination games this season, including a 2-0 record on the road. Indiana has won nine of their last 11 elimination games dating back to the 2012 playoffs. All-time, the Fever are 11-2 in playoff elimination games at home.
• The Fever have played in one decisive WNBA Finals Game 5 in their franchise history, falling at Phoenix in the 2009 WNBA Finals. Overall, Indiana holds an 8-6 record all-time in the final, decisive game of a playoff series.
• Wednesday’s game will mark the 67th playoff game the Fever have played, passing Los Angeles (66) for the most in WNBA history.
• The Fever have shot 90.1 percent (64-71) from the free throw line in four Finals games, the second-highest percentage in a Finals series.
• Tamika Catchings set a new WNBA postseason record by making her 65th career start in Sunday’s Game 4 win. She now leads the WNBA in career playoff points, rebounds, free throws, steals, double-doubles, games played and games started.
• Catchings needs three field goals to pass Lisa Leslie (345) for the most field goals made in WNBA playoffs history.
• With four offensive boards in Game 4, Erlana Larkins moved ahead of Lisa Leslie (127) into fifth place on the WNBA’s career list of playoff offensive rebounds. She has now recorded 130 offensive rebounds in her playoff career, including 33 this postseason (3.3 per game).
• Briann January has scored in double figures in all four WNBA Finals contests while averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game this series. She has made 19 of her 20 free throw attempts (95.0 percent) this series, including her Game 4 performance in which she set career highs with 11 free throws on 12 attempts.
• January has record 24 assists so far in the Finals, tied for fourth most in a Finals series.
• Shenise Johnson has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games in the playoffs, including all four Finals games. She is shooting 49.5 percent from the field this postseason, fourth among all WNBA players who played more than three games this postseason.

Probable Starters
Fever – F-Marissa Coleman, F-Tamika Catchings, C-Erlana Larkins, G-Shenise Johnson, G-Briann January
Lynx – F- Maya Moore, F- Rebekkah Brunson, C- Sylvia Fowles, G- Seimone Augustus, G- Lindsay Whalen

Series Recap
(October 11, 2015) INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever improved their record to 5-0 this postseason when facing elimination as they survived to win Game 4, 75-69. The win forced a fifth and final game in their WNBA Finals series with the Minnesota Lynx. After the Fever took a 36-32 lead into halftime, the Lynx scored the first six points of the second half to retake a 38-36 lead early in the third quarter. But Indiana took control of the game as they stormed ahead on a 22-6 run to take their largest lead of the game, 58-44 with 1:28 left in the third quarter. Indiana would manage just 17 points while shooting 1-for-7 from the field in the fourth quarter, but the Fever attempted 18 free throws, making 15, to withstand a late Lynx run to move the series back to Minnesota for a final Game 5. Shenise Johnson led the Fever with 15 points. Marissa Coleman added 14 points. Briann January finished with 13 points while shooting a career-best 11-for-12 from the free throw line, including 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter.

(October 9, 2015) INDIANAPOLIS – Maya Moore scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the final quarter, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Lynx to a dramatic 80-77 victory in Game 3 to give Minnesota a 2-1 series advantage over Indiana in the WNBA Finals. In an offensive showcase that saw both the Fever and Lynx shoot 50 percent from the field, Indiana rallied after trailing by five early in the fourth quarter to lead 77-74 with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter. After Fever forward Marissa Coleman missed from the left wing with a chance to push Indiana’s lead to five, Minnesota guar Renee Montgomery buried a triple with 1:11 remaining to tie the game at 77. After a turnover on the other end, Indiana regained possession after forcing Montgomery into a tough look with 26.9 seconds to play. Shenise Johnson, who had hit 7-of-10 shots prior, had a good three-point look to take the lead fall off the mark as the Lynx called timeout with 1.7 seconds remaining. That proved to be all the time that Moore would need as she used a quick pump fake and dribble to create space and put Minnesota in the driver’s seat to win their third WNBA championship. Johnson led the Fever with 17 points. Briann January continued her stellar WNBA Finals series with 15 points while tying a playoff career high with eight assists. Coleman added 14 points while Tamika Catchings finished with 10 point and 10 rebounds for her 25th career playoff double-double – most in WNBA history.

(October 6, 2015) MINNEAPOLIS – The Lynx trailed by as many as nine points early in the third quarter, but Maya Moore scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half propel Minnesota to a 77-71 win in Game 2 to even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece. The Fever led 41-39 at halftime and used an 11-4 run out of the locker room to take their largest lead of the second half with 7:02 left in the period. However after committing only three turnovers in the first half, Minnesota forced Indiana into 14 mistakes in the second half while holding the Fever to 30 points in the second half to split the first two games at the Target Center. Sylvia Fowles led the Lynx with 21 points and nine rebounds. Moore added eight boards and a team-high five assists, while Seimone Augustus tallied 11 points. Briann January led the Fever for the second straight game with 17 points and five assists. Tamika Catchings was limited to just 24 minutes with foul trouble, but finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Shenise Johnson and Marissa Coleman each added 10.

(October 4, 2015) MINNEAPOLIS – Despite shooting just 36 percent from the field on the day, the Indiana Fever shot 16-for-16 from the free throw line to hold on for a 75-69 road victory in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. The Lynx rallied in the fourth quarter after trailing by six early in the period as Sylvia Fowles’ layup gave Minnesota its first second-half lead, 62-61, with 4:12 to play. But Marissa Coleman answered on the other end with a three-pointer off an offensive rebound and dish from Briann January to put the Fever ahead for good. Five Fever players finished in double figures, led by January with 19 points and six assists. Coleman finished with 16, Tamika Catchings added 12, while Shenise Johnson and Shavonte Zellous each pitched in 10. Maya Moore led the Lynx with 27 points and 12 rebounds, while frontcourt mate Sylvia Fowles added 21 and 11.

Revisiting the 2012 WNBA Finals
Much like this season’s run to the WNBA Finals, the 2012 Fever reached the WNBA Finals after facing elimination in each of the first two rounds. Indiana survived in three-game series in the Eastern Semis against the Atlanta Dream, and again in the Eastern Finals over the Connecticut Sun. The Fever would eventually defeat the Western Conference champ Minnesota Lynx in four games. In the 2012 Finals, the Fever shocked the defending champions by winning Game 1 on the road at the Target Center, 76-70. As the series shifted back to Indianapolis tied 1-1, the Fever defended their home floor and won Games 3 and 4 to capture the franchise’s first WNBA title.

Five players from the 2012 championship season are making a return trip to the Finals this season, including starters Tamika Catchings, Erlana Larkins and Briann January. Key reserve Shavonte Zellous makes her second appearance in the Finals, while Jeanette Pohlen was also a member of the 2012 championship squad.

Series
The Lynx swept the two regular season meetings with the Fever this season, including a 16-point victory at the Target Center on Sept. 4. The Fever have lost nine consecutive regular season games to the Lynx and have dropped nine regular season road games in a row at Minnesota. However, Indiana was able to steal a Game 1 victory in the at the Target Center on October 4.