AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Deanna Nolan was honored before the tipoff Wednesday night for making the All-WNBA Second Team, but it was Detroit rookie Shavonte Zellous who stole the show, scoring a 23 in another Shock-style comeback, including 12 points in the second quarter alone.

Rookie Shavonte Zellous scored a game-high 23 points for Detroit.  Photo by Lynn Gregg.

“I just felt the flow of the game,” Zellous said. “I know I needed to provide a spark for my team tonight.”

Even with the help of Zellous, the Shock found themselves victims of the Indiana Fever’s intense, physical defense and hot outside shooting during the first quarter. The Fever made 60 percent of their three-point shots in the first half, with Katie Douglas leading the way. With the help of both Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown, the Fever were up by 11 midway through the second quarter.

But then it was Tweety Nolan and Shavonte Zellous time. The Shock guards helped orchestrate an electrifying late first-half run to put their team within two.

“At first we had to get a feel for the game,” Shock head coach Rick Mahorn said. “Once we found out how it was going to be, we started executing on both offense and defense.”

The Shock continued their late-half massacre into the third quarter to eventually lead Indiana by 16.  Nolan finished with 22 for Detroit, while Kara Braxton added 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.  But the real story wasn’t the Shock’s offense, but the damage that was done defensively, limiting the Fever's leading player Tamika Catchings to just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting, and causing the all-star to turn over the ball four times.

“Detroit didn’t do anything special,” said Indiana Fever head coach Lin Dunn. “They switched [Catchings], were physical, and just did not give her any good looks.”

“[Alexis] Hornbuckle made a commitment on defense, and she did a great job," Mahorn said. "It was a total team effort. Defense wins Championships.”

Hornbuckle had eight points, two blocks and two steals for Detroit.

Only two players scored in double figures for the Fever, who otherwise tend toward a well-spread scoring attack.   Douglas led the Fever with 16 points, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and Sutton-Brown scored 14.   Catchings was the only player in double-digits in the rebound column, with 11.

“The thing that hurts the most is that Detroit just wanted it more than we did," Dunn said. "We did not match their energy, effort or toughness.”

The Shock and Fever will meet up again for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night in Indianapolis. Tip-off is at 7pm ET and the game will air on NBA TV.