Fever top Liberty 82-70 behind strong effort from Kizer

NEW YORK (AP) Lynetta Kizer had a career-high 21 points and Marissa Coleman scored 11 of her 14 points during a decisive run to help the Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 82-70 on Thursday in the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.

With the game tied at 58 near the end of the third quarter, Coleman hit a 3-pointer to start the 15-2 burst. She had 11 of the team's 15 points during the spurt, including three 3-pointers and a tough fall-away jumper. Her last 3-pointer made it 73-60 with 6:10 left in the game.

The Fever (12-12), who are sixth in the AP WNBA power poll, wouldn't let New York couldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way.

Tina Charles had 25 points and 13 rebounds for third-ranked New York (18-8).

The Fever and the Liberty were both fined by the league on Wednesday for wearing plain black warm up shirts in the wake of recent shootings by and against police officers. While the shirts had the adidas brand - the official outfitter of the league - WNBA rules state that uniforms may not be altered in any way.

New York wore the shirts four times while Indiana wore them just once on Tuesday night before their nationally televised game.

Both teams were back to wearing their normal warmup shirts on Thursday, although Charles wore hers inside out.

The Fever built a 12-point lead in the first half behind Kizer. She had 15 points as Indiana led 45-38 at the half. New York rallied behind Charles much to the delight of the camp day crowd that was cheering loudly on almost every play. The Liberty tied the game at 58 before Coleman took over.

Even with the loss, the Liberty sit comfortably in third place in the playoff chase. With a new postseason format this year, the top eight teams make the playoffs regardless of conference. The top two teams get byes to the semifinals while the three and four seeds don't play until the second round.

This was the final regular season game for Tamika Catchings at Madison Square Garden. The veteran forward, who set her career-high with 32 points at MSG as a rookie, finished with eight points and eight rebounds on her 37th birthday.

The Liberty return to play after the Olympic break on Aug. 26.