WNBA FINALS: PHOENIX VS. CHICAGO

October 13, 2021

Brittney Griner

Diana Taurasi

Skylar Diggins-Smith

Phoenix Mercury

Game 2: Postgame

Mercury 91, Sky 86

Q. You guys fought your way into the lead there late in the fourth quarter, couldn't quite finish it, but you jumped out right away at the beginning of overtime. Could you just talk about how important it was to get that early lead in overtime and kind of carry it all the way through?

SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH: Yeah, I thought we should have won in regulation. They had some plays, obviously, I made that foul and Cop [Kahleah Copper] got an and-one and they came down, Sloot made a good play. We knew we had to bring energy because it felt like we finished it, I felt like that rejuvenated them and gave them some momentum. So, we wanted to make sure we came out strong to set the tone in overtime. I think D made a three, I forgot what happened, and got fouled on the three or something like that and then somebody made a shot and we went up six early.

But yeah, just setting the tone in the overtime, seeing how regulation finished, we needed to start with energy.

Q. Skylar, on those drives especially, it seemed you finished two of those with your right hand late in the game. How much have you improved on that late in your career when you've been able to trust it and use it in a big-time moment?

SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH: Yeah, I had about five or seven that I freaking should have made. Yeah, I felt good about the way I was able to get downhill, get a head of steam today, even if it was for opening opportunities for my teammates. Obviously got in and missed some makeable lay-ups, but I knew I would have another chance, and my team told me that, too, just keep going, keep trying to be aggressive, get downhill, had a few lobs to BG, Breezy [Brianna Turner], a few kick-outs. So, I felt good with where I was getting on the floor, not necessarily my finishes throughout the night.

Yeah, just trying to make a play. That's what I was trying to do all night for this team. Obviously, we have two -- we have a lot of people that are experienced on this team, BG is a go-to, Diana is a go-to. So, I was just trying to do something, whether it was rebounding or passing the basketball or just making plays on defense. Yeah, those two went in for me, and those are big shots.

Q. Diana was 0-for from three-point range going to the fourth quarter but made the clutch threes at the end. What can you say about her ability to just have a bad night be in the past immediately when clutch moments like that came up?

BRITTNEY GRINER: That's the GOAT right there. We know what D can bring, doesn't matter how she starts the game or whatever. You know when the time is going down, when it's crunch time, we have all the faith in the world that D is going to make those shots and make big plays for us. She does it year in, year out.

Q. Brittney, you talked before the game about being tough under pressure and picking that up from your dad. Was tonight one of those nights? What was the mentality? You obviously started off so fast and then they also kind of got going in that fourth quarter. Curious about your mindset throughout the night.

BRITTNEY GRINER: You know, stick with it. It's a game of runs. We knew they were going to make a run. We knew we were going to make a run, lead changes. But you know, we never got down. That was the thing. Never get down, keep going, get a stop, get a score, get a board, try to force them into turnovers, and those little things throughout the game, we knew were going to help us get the win.

Q. Diana, when the shots aren't falling for you early and Brittney is going like she was, how important is it to keep feeding her, keep getting her involved and for her to take over like she did?

DIANA TAURASI: It's huge. We know who our bread and butter is. BG is just playing at a different level right now and there's really nothing anyone can do. We knew coming into this game it was going to be a big focus. Got to get BG down low early and often. She sustained us for most of the game when offensively we didn't really have a rhythm, and every time I looked up, she was making big basket after big basket when we weren't playing well.

That's just what BG does, though. I think we take for granted sometimes how amazing she is.

Q. BG, before I ask my question I was curious if you could introduce to us your guest.

BRITTNEY GRINER: Do you want to say hey? My nephew right here.

Q. I'm curious as to what your goals were both offensively and defensively coming into this game. Of course, after you watched the film from Game 1.

BRITTNEY GRINER: Well, don't suck on defense like I did first game. That was honestly my biggest thing. Just not hugging my man. I hugged my man way too much in that first game. I hugged him way too much. When I'm in the paint and they see me and I'm there, that's when I can help my team. When I'm out hugging on the perimeter and not in the paint, I'm just dead weight out there. So, that was a big thing.

And then just being aggressive from the jump. If it goes in, it goes in, if it doesn't, it doesn't. My teammates have all the faith and always talking to me. That was my thing, just go to the rim, get it, but if I don't, I don't.

Q. Sky, you talked about the lay-ups, but you seemed to have your fingerprints all over this game, 12 assists, you got your own rebound on a couple of those. Could you talk about how you stayed aggressive all the way through everything, even when your shot wasn't falling?

SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH: Yeah, I was just trying to make something happen. Like I said, I felt really good about how I was able to get a head of steam, get downhill, get in a lane, create opportunities for my team. Yeah, it didn't fall for me but I was just trying to do other things, like I said, making plays on defense, trying to get a steal, just trying to do other things and find that edge, that rhythm within the game.

Yeah, it's like that sometimes. You know, we've got great -- I've got two great players, a lot of great players coming off the bench that have my back. So just trying to stay aggressive, even if it's not for me, if it's creating opportunities for other people, but just keeping that mindset on both sides of the basketball.

Q. To be in a Finals game that's going back and forth down the stretch into overtime, kind of a great classic game, could you feel the moment and could you feel the energy in the arena tonight?

SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH: I couldn't hear.

DIANA TAURASI: I mean, it was crazy in there. You know, when you're in that moment, the gravity of what's going on, you can feel it and you try to just laser in on each possession, each timeout, really communicating with each other. At the end of the day it just ends up being basketball, and I think that's the beauty of our team is with everything that's going on, we can just always focus on what we need to get done, and today we did an amazing job doing that.

You know, Chicago still played really, really good today, so it's not like they didn't play well. They played amazing, and we just got a couple possessions that went our way, and the game went our way.

Q. Brianna Turner only was credited with three steals but she kept tapping the ball out of possession, and I wanted to see what you guys took away from that and what she really contributed to the game tonight.

DIANA TAURASI: Well, she needs to grab the ball then [joking]. I mean, Breezy is a problem. What she does for us will never show up on this [holds up box score], but the only reason we're here is because of her, and we all know that on our team, coaching staff, the people around this team. We literally are what Brianna Turner is every single day, and she's got us here with the way she's played, her uncanny ability to affect the game without having the ball is just second to none.

Q. Everyone is talking about your offense in overtime, but the defensive play you made, the steal, just talk about that for a second, how big that was to get you guys the win tonight.

DIANA TAURASI: Yeah, I finally get a steal and then I trip over my own feet at the other end. That's just kind of my life in a lot of ways. I mean, they're tough to guard. We tried everything today. We switched, we blacked, we hedged, we sought, we did all of these things. It was a lot of hard work from everyone on our team. I mean, Sloot is a handful, Q, Candace is just playing at such a high level. Then you think about Copper and what she's done in these playoffs and then Azura and Diamond. There's a lot of things that we really have to make sure every possession we're locked in, and today we did that enough, enough times.

Q. I was just wondering, Skylar was saying how she's looked to you and BG because you've been in Finals before, but it just seemed to me like she really stepped forward big time tonight. Can you talk about what she's brought to the franchise and also just the chemistry that it seemed was just instant between you and her?

DIANA TAURASI: I've said it, I've been around this game a long time and there's not too many people that compete the way Skylar competes every single day. We've gotten to work out for two offseasons. Every day is the same. Every day is Game 5 for her. I've said this before, that's kind of ignited my passion for the game a little bit to see someone do that every single day. What she did today was, Skylar taking it to a different level. It's always nice when you're playing well and everything is going your way, know what I mean? Those nights are great, but the days where you're really struggling and you're trying to find yourself in the game and the way she just impacted the game every single possession, probably one of the best games I've ever seen her play.