Indianapolis, IN (My Sportsbook) - Cappie Pondexter poured in 22 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds, as the Phoenix Mercury took care of the Indiana Fever, 90-77, in the fourth game of the best-of-five series to force a Game 5 in the WNBA Finals.

Penny Taylor scored 17 points off the bench for the Mercury, who had lost two straight games after taking Game 1 in OT. Tangela Smith and league MVP Diana Taurasi chipped in 16 points apiece. Temeka Johnson added 10 points and five assists for Phoenix, which will host Game 5 on Friday at 9 p.m. (et).

"I think the first thing is being calm, not looking at it as elimination. We know our backs were against the wall, but we couldn't focus on that. We had to come out and play Mercury basketball, which I think we did for forty minutes. We wanted to come out very positive with a lot of energy on both end of the floor and attack. I think that was key for us tonight," Pondexter said.

Tamika Catchings finished with game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Fever, who are seeking their first championship. Ebony Hoffman ended with 17 points and eight rebounds. Tammy Sutton-Brown added 12 points in defeat.

"I think they definitely came out and one of the things that I know they've been talking about is how they began the game in Games 2 and 3. And how we jumped on them right from the beginning and it seemed like tonight that was their mentality, definitely jumping on us quick," Catchings said.

The Fever scored the first four points of the fourth frame to cut their deficit to 72-68 with 8:17 remaining. Phoenix responded in a big way, going on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 84-70 lead.

Smith and Taylor each drilled a three-pointer during the spurt, with Taylor's trey capping the flurry with 2:36 to play.

The Mercury held on for the victory as Indiana never got closer than nine in the final minutes.

Trailing 12-10 early in the first quarter, the Mercury ripped off 13 consecutive points to go ahead 23-12. Pondexter had six points during the spurt, which she capped off with an 18-foot jumper with less than four minutes left.

Indiana put together a 10-3 run to close the gap to four, but Taylor scored the final seven points of the period for Phoenix to take a 33-22 lead after one.

Taurasi's three-pointer put the Mercury ahead 43-34 with 5:44 left until half. However, the Fever scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to two.

Phoenix held on its slim edge and took a 49-47 margin into the locker room.

A Hoffman layup and a Catchings jumper tied the contest, 59-59, with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. The Mercury, though, responded with a 10-2 flurry to build a 69-61 lead. Le'Coe Willingham's pair of foul shots topped of the run with under two minutes left.

A Pondexter three-pointer with 22.1 ticks left gave Phoenix a 72-65 margin heading into the fourth quarter.