Sparks go cold in Game 2
The WNBA Finals are tied and heading to L.A. after a big game by Maya Moore.
L.A. was held to 32.9% and Maya Moore had 21 points to help the Lynx even the WNBA Finals.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Lynx were backed into a corner after a Game 1 loss on their home floor to the star-studded Sparks.
No time to panic for this battle-tested group. The defending champions knew just how to respond.
Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
“This team bounces back well. We can’t stay down for too long,” Moore said. “And I’m a part of that. I wanted to bring that energy and that’s what I took on myself personally today.”
Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held the Sparks to 32.9% shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.
“We played like this game was more important to them than it was to us, and that’s unfortunate,” Sparks Coach Brian Agler said. “You don’t get these opportunities often, so you have to play like you might not get this game back.”
Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series.
“I think it had a lot to do with our effort,” Ogwumike said. “Not to say that we don’t want it. But you get tired and muddled and you’re not focusing on what you’re doing, a lot of times confusion can seep in. And I think that’s what happened.”
Candace Parker was quiet with six points on threefor-12 shooting and the Sparks missed 17 of 20 threepoint shots.
The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for the most in league history.
Neither team led by more than five points during an airtight Game 1 that the Sparks won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.
After going scoreless in the first half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. She hit two three-pointers and a layup, then picked Parker’s pocket and heaved a three-quarters-length outlet to Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.
The Sparks made things interesting with a 14-0 run in the third quarter that made the score 44-41, but Augustus and Moore took over in the fourth.