"Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't," said an indifferent Diana Taurasi after the game. She's not panicking, and nor should you.

We all know Diana is hilarious, but it was awesome to see an entire room of riggid reporters crack up when she was asked what the reason was behind the Fever winning. Taurasi responded, "They scored more points than us."

Sometimes, a little laugh and making things lighter is the best remedy for a loss.

Clearly, it was one of those games where shots were falling for the Fever and they just weren't going in for the Mercury. For example...

• Indiana shot almost 50% from the floor, made 23 free throws, had 40 total rebounds, and 17 assists on 33 made shots.
• Phoenix, on the other hand, shot just 39% from the floor, made just 18 free throws, had only 35 rebounds, and 15 assists.

Again, if you solely look at the box score, it's clear that the game was in the Fever's control for the vast majority of the night. Yet, Phoenix still cut the lead to within 5 points with 1:20 left in the game in spite of allowing 42 points in the paint by the Fever.

Again, I say, don't panic.

When is the last time that Diana and Cappie have shot anywhere close to a combined 12/38 (31%) two games in a row? Yes, Indiana is a good defensive team but the shots they were getting were open; it was just one of those nights where they weren't going in. Still, every time the Mercury have had their backs against the wall this season, they've responded with an unrivaled amount of energy and fervor.

I was at the game and can tell you (as will Corey Gaines) that it wasn't anything that Indiana did defensively that was different than Tuesday night. Quite simply, the Mercury just weren't hitting shots. Layups weren't even going in. "They weren't," said Gaines when asked if they were doing anything different. "We missed shots and instead of taking three's, we decided to go in and get to the basket."

The Fever, however, will tell you it was because of an increased focus on the defensive end and putting pressure on the ball. I don't necessarily see it the same way. I see it more of missed opportunities by the Mercury rather than stellar defense by the fever. "We just played with a lot more energy," Katie Douglas said about their defense. "A lot more effort and a lot more communication. Obviously, the rebounding numbers from the other night were overwhelming, 24 second-chance points. Everybody made a concerted effort to box out tonight. Also, to be able to disrupt them and get them to take some off-balance shots, not allowing them to shoot a high percentage was crucial."

Still, even with the so-called increase in effort and communication, the Mercury were within reaching distance with the game on the line. These kinds of things happen in basketball, and it's all about how you bounce back. "I mean, we just have to knock those shots down," said Cappie. "They weren't falling tonight. But we're confident in each other, and I know we haven't lost two in a row all year, and I don't think anybody's going to stop that."

Of course, the loss of Penny Taylor left a major hole since she made an instant impact off the bench for the Mercury with 14 first-half points before an errand elbow by Briann January made her bleed profusely and took her out of the game for good. Penny didn't lose any teeth, but her front tooth was pushed back and it sliced through her lip up to her gum line. The doc fitted her with a metal 'brace' and will fit her with a mouthguard for Sunday's game. "It definitely hurt," Gaines said about Taylor's absence. "She had 14 in the first half and she got hit in the mouth, I'm not sure, I haven't talked to the doctors so I don't know exactly what's wrong. I know for sure she'll play the next game. I know Penny Taylor and she'll play next game, for sure, 100%."

"It affected us a lot," Cappie Pondexter said about the loss of Penny. "Especially our rotation. It wasn't as deep as it normally is but some things happen like that, but we have to keep fighting no matter what."

Sometimes it's not about how often you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up. "It came down to a lot of things, but we just didn't play the kind of basketball that we usually play. We weren't playing defense, missing free throws, missing shots that we usually make. That's stuff we can easily fix and we'll get on it for the next game."

Couldn't say it any better myself.