San Antonio, TX (Betting Express) - Katie Smith scored 22 points, and Deanna Nolan and Kara Braxton each had 12 points, as the Detroit Shock downed the San Antonio Silver Stars, 69-61, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

Nolan also grabbed seven rebounds, as the Shock shot 28-of-55 from the field to move to within one victory of claiming its third championship in franchise history. Detroit also won titles in 2006 and 2003 and is the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion.

"I think this was a gutty performance by our team," Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer said. "We've been here before. We lost last year and we don't like it. And we know we have unfinished business."

Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars with 24 points and seven assists, but the team shot only 21-of-64 from the field, limiting the team offensively. Ann Wauters contributed 13 points, and Sophia Young scored 11 for San Antonio, which is making its first-ever appearance in the WNBA Finals.

The series will now shift to Detroit for the next two scheduled games, as Game 3 will be played Sunday. The Silver Stars, pushed to the brink of elimination, will need to win two consecutive road games to force a decisive Game 5 in San Antonio.

"We've got to just start seeing that ball go in," Hammon said. "I mean, we have some capable shooters, and we just -- two nights in a row -- we just haven't shot the ball well."

Down 39-30, the Silver Stars went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 39 with 3:26 left in the third. After Smith hit a three-pointer for Detroit on the next possession, San Antonio scored four straight points to take their first lead of the game, 43-42. The teams traded the lead for the next few possessions, and Smith made a couple free throws at the end of the quarter to give Detroit a three-point advantage -- 48-45 -- headed into the final stanza.

The Shock began the fourth with scores on three of their first five possessions, holding the Silver Stars to two points in that 2:25 span to make it 54-47.

Following a timeout, San Antonio continued to struggle from the field, and baskets from Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Braxton helped Detroit vault to an 11-point advantage with 4:46 to play. San Antonio would climb within five with just over a minute to play but Smith's jumper with 41 seconds left secured the victory for Detroit.

"We're excited about going home. We're excited about an opportunity that we have," Smith said. "We have an opportunity but we have not done anything yet."

Detroit got off to a fast start. Braxton and Nolan each scored four points apiece early as the Shock opened up a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Nolan finished with eight points in the quarter, as Detroit was able to more than double up the Silver Stars in the first quarter, 25-12.

San Antonio answered with a run of their own to start the second quarter, as the team ripped off 12 straight points. Wauters helped with six of those points to bring the Silver Stars within one with 4:22 to go in the half.

But the Shock scored on their next three possessions, outscoring San Antonio 10-4 for the remainder of the quarter to go into the break up 35-28.