Lynx survive Sparks, return to WNBA Finals

Los Angeles, CA, United States (4E Sports) – Monica Wright knocked down a go-ahead trey with barely a minute remaining as the Minnesota Lynx survived the Los Angeles Sparks, 80-79, to advance into their second consecutive WNBA finals Sunday at Staples Center.

The Lynx got another prolific scoring output from the trio of Seimone Augustus (21 points), Maya Moore (20 pts), and Lindsay Whalen (17 points) but Wright came through with the biggest shot in the series.

After losing big-time to the Lynx in their series opener, the Sparks were off to a hot start as Candace Parker and Alana Beard powered their team to double-digit lead early on.

But the Lynx fought back and cut the deficit by a single point, 40-39, at the break.

The Sparks again tried to build a commanding lead in the second half, leading by as much as 13 points. However, Moore, Augustus, and Whalen ignited a 12-3 blast to put them within a point 70-69, with 6:43 left to play.

It was a see-saw battle through the final six minutes but the Lynx executed their game plan well at crunch time.

The Sparks had several chances to take back the lead after Wright’s go-ahead trey but the Lynx defense proved to be the key in the final seconds.

Beard missed a couple of potential game-winning jumpers as time expired.

With the victory, the Lynx are back in the WNBA finals to face the winner between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun. The Sun led the series 1-0 going into Monday’s Game 2 in Indiana.

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