Fever 77, Sky 70

Briann January scored 19 points and Shavonte Zellous added 18 to help the Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 77-70 on Saturday night in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.

Indiana took a 60-48 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Sky stormed back with a 14-3 run to open the final period and pulled within one. Allie Quigley had five points during the burst, including the lone 3-pointer made by the Sky.

Chicago then missed its next six shots allowing Indiana to build separation as Zellous hit a pair of 3's to put the game away.

Sylvia Fowles led Chicago with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Elena Delle Donna and Quigley added 14 apiece.

Indiana trailed Chicago only in the first two minutes of the game.

Game 2 will be in Chicago on Monday.

Mercury 85, Lynx 71

Brittney Griner had 23 points and 11 rebounds as Phoenix held off a late rally to beat Minnesota on Friday night in Game 1 of the best-of-3 Western Conference finals.

Penny Taylor added 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals for the Mercury, who built a 25-point lead in the third quarter but allowed Minnesota to get within 10 in the final period.

Game 2 is today in Minneapolis.

Diana Taurasi added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists on an off-shooting night (5-of-15) while DeWanna Bonner had 16 points and seven rebounds for Phoenix, which won three of four meetings with Minnesota during the regular season.

Lindsay Whalen had 25 points to lead the Lynx. The Mercury held Maya Moore, the league's leading scorer and most valuable player, to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. Rebekkah Brunson had 10 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.

The Lynx swept the Mercury in the 2011 and 2013 conference finals on their way to winning WNBA titles. Minnesota has reached the final round for three straight years.