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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Taj McWilliams had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Miracle beat the Cleveland Rockers 62-55 Friday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
|  | | Taj McWilliams was 7-for-7 from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds. |
McWilliams made all seven of her field goal attempts as the Miracle earned their first playoff victory in franchise history.
Orlando almost squandered an 11-point lead late in the second
half as Cleveland put together a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to
52-51 with 2:53 remaining.
However, McWilliams hit a jumper 17 seconds later, and the
Rockers followed with a turnover that led to a basket by Nykesha
Sales to make it 56-51 with 1:45 left.
Merlakia Jones hit a basket to cut it to 58-55 with 52.1 seconds
remaining, but the Rockers missed their final three field-goal
attempts after that.
Sales finished with 15 points, Adrienne Johnson had 13 and Cintia Dos Santos added 12 for Orlando, which shot 52 percent (26-for-50) for the game.
Jones had 18 points on 8-for-24 shooting, and Chasity Melvin had 14 points for Cleveland. The Rockers shot only 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field, including 2-for-14 on 3-pointers.
Cleveland took a 27-22 in the first half on a layup by Melvin.
However, the Miracle closed the period with a 6-2 run to cut the
deficit to 29-28 at halftime.
Orlando began the second half with a 14-2 run and led 42-31 with
13:11 remaining in the game. Cleveland trimmed it to 43-40 on a
layup by Mery Andrade, before Orlando's 9-1 run extended the lead
to 52-41 at the 7:03 mark.
The best-of-three opening-round series continues Sunday at
Cleveland.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
WNBA playoff schedule
RECAPS
Orlando 62
Cleveland 55
Los Angeles 86
Phoenix 71
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Taj McWilliams goes to work in the key.
avi: 491 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ann Wauters shows off her low-post moves.
avi: 643 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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