PHOENIX -- After the opening game of the WNBA Finals, Tamika Catchings sent her Indiana teammate Katie Douglas a text message saying, "Great game, way to step it up for the team."
Douglas answered by letting Catchings know she shouldn't beat herself up -- which is what Catchings had been doing.
"I said, 'Don't be so hard on yourself,'" Douglas said. "'You didn't let us down like you think you did.'"
Douglas had scored 30 points in the Fever's loss Tuesday, in which Catchings fouled out with eight points. Catchings had said after that game that she felt she hadn't done what she needed to do for the Fever.
"We never question her effort," Douglas said. "I told her to just relax, have some fun, and that I had nothing but the utmost confidence in her. That was what I stressed the most: I knew she was going to rebound from that."
Did she ever. Indiana beat Phoenix 93-84 on Thursday, and Catchings nearly became the first player in WNBA Finals history to have a triple-double. She finished with 19 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, leading six Indiana players who scored in double figures. The Fever evened the series 1-1, sending the teams to what could be a full house in Indianapolis on Sunday (ESPN2, 4 p.m. ET).
NBA legend Larry Bird bought 7,000 tickets and gave them away to bring fans in for the third game of the Eastern Conference finals last Saturday. But this time, no giveaways are needed to fill Conseco Fieldhouse. Indy has the fever for the Fever and more than 16,000 fans -- including several Indiana Pacers players -- are expected to be on hand.
"It's absolutely awesome," Catchings said. "I saw some pictures today of what the arena looked like before that game [last week], and it was awe-inspiring. Looking out at all these people who came out to support us Larry Bird bought the upper deck, but this time people are buying their own tickets to come. And I think that's a tribute to how we play."
Among those who also will be there Sunday is Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and her staff, who will come to support Catchings. Plus, Summitt's fellow Tennessee-Martin alum, Lin Dunn, is the Fever's head coach.
Summitt would have given a thumbs-up to how Indiana played Thursday: with tougher defense, better rebounding, good ball movement and complete team participation.
Ebony Hoffman and Briann January each scored 16 points, and Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown had 14 each. And Jessica Davenport, who was released by New York in June and picked up by Indiana after veteran post Yolanda Griffith was lost for the season to injury, had 10 points.
"It didn't work for me in New York, and I think this is where I was meant to be," Davenport said. "We wanted to focus on defense and try to keep our poise throughout the game. We're very close as a unit.
"I don't know if this is necessarily the best game I've played for the Fever, but it was the biggest stage."
It was virtually a must-win for Indiana, especially after the Fever came so close in Game 1 but fell 120-116 in overtime. Dunn insisted after that game she wasn't displeased with the pace, but with Indiana's defense and rebounding.
On Thursday, the Fever limited Phoenix to 39.7 percent shooting, as stars Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter went a combined 12-of-38 from the field. The Fever didn't dominate the boards, but did get a 40-35 edge.
Moreover, the Fever set the tone early and then were able to withstand the inevitable pushes that the Mercury made to try to take back control.
"They have the capacity to score so quickly," Dunn said. "At times we let the zone bother us, and at times we didn't. I thought every time they had a run, we matched it. And that's good to see, especially in their home arena."
Not a whole lot went right for the Mercury, including when an accidental elbow by Briann January hit Penny Taylor in the mouth and ended her evening with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Taylor got stitches, will be fitted for a mouthpiece and is expected back for Sunday's game.
The Mercury need her, because she has been their most consistent performer thus far in the Finals. Taylor had 23 points on Tuesday and 14 in just 11½ minutes of play Thursday. She is 11-of-14 from the field in this series.
Despite her shooting woes, Taurasi led the Mercury with 20 points, while Temeka Johnson had 14 and Pondexter and Tangela Smith each added 12.
In both the first round and in the Western Conference finals, the Mercury had one game in which the team's energy really didn't seem up to par. That was the case Thursday, too.
"We had lapses where they ran us, instead of us running them," Phoenix coach Corey Gaines said. "So it happens sometimes to us. I'm sure I'll watch the film and figure it out."
The Mercury also will have to try to figure out how to slow Catchings, who is playing in the Finals for the first time in her career and gave a performance on Thursday worthy of her great reputation.
"I just wanted to stay on the court tonight," said Catchings, who avoided the foul trouble that hampered her Tuesday. "When I start the game out with an aggressive mindset, it allows me to play a lot better. The first game, I was so anxious to get it going it was like, 'Let's go, let's go, let's go.' And tonight I was more relaxed but still able to be aggressive. I think I stepped up to the plate."
And just about did the basketball equivalent of hitting for the cycle. As good as Catchings was, though, it was as important that the Fever as a team gave such a complete effort.
"Everybody came in with an enormous amount of energy," Douglas said. "And anytime that you can have so many people make solid contributions, good things happen.
"For me, growing up in Indianapolis, going to college at Purdue -- it's so great how excited the city is. I can't wait to get back home and see what it's going to look like Sunday at Conseco."
Mechelle Voepel, a regular contributor to ESPN.com, can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com. Read her blog at http://voepel.wordpress.com.