LOS ANGELES – As she exited the court for the locker room Sunday night, Seimone
Augustus saluted members of Lynx Nation in the crowd, thanking the fans that
made the trip to watch what could have been the final game of the WNBA season.
When the buzzer sounded in Game 3, you could already hear the pundits counting
Minnesota out. They’re too old. They can’t handle the Sparks’ defensive
pressure. It’s the end of a dynasty.
Instead, the Lynx bounced back to give their fans one more chance to cheer them
on at home. Minnesota earned an 80-69 win in Game 4 on Sunday at STAPLES Center
to send the Finals to a winner-take-all Game 5 for the second straight year.
“We’re not going to quit,” Maya Moore said after the victory. “That level of
competitiveness for 40 minutes is what’s required to win a championship. That’s
exactly what we knew we could do. We expect no less from L.A. on Wednesday.”
Not only did the Lynx bounce back as a team, but starting guards Lindsay Whalen
and Seimone Augustus looked like themselves again after both going scoreless in
Game 3. Whalen helped control the tempo with eight assists and just two
turnovers after struggling on that end Friday night. Augustus, coming off the
only scoreless playoff game of her career, finished with 10 points and eight
rebounds.
Sylvia Fowles (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Moore (15 points, eight rebounds)
also did their thing, but it was Rebekkah Brunson who made perhaps the biggest
difference Sunday night.
Brunson, the 35-year-old forward who is aiming to win a WNBA-record fifth
championship, tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds while going 10-of-13 at the foul
line. Her 18 points were the most she’s scored in a playoff game since 2013, and
the 14 rebounds were her most in any game since 2015.
“I thought we were incredibly focused because of Lindsay, Seimone, Rebekkah,
Maya and Syl,” Lnyx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Those are my five starters, and
they’re unbelievable leaders. They have unbelievable confidence in themselves,
and they have this fire in their belly that is second to none. You follow their
lead. It’s been a group that has so much confidence in each other, belief in
what we’re doing, belief in our identity.”
All of Minnesota’s starters have been All-Star level players throughout their
careers. In these Finals, the Sparks have singled out Brunson by daring her to
shoot. L.A. decided to double team Fowles often, and left Brunson wide open in
doing so.
It’s no coincidence that when Brunson has performed well, the Lynx have come out
victorious.
In their Game 1 and Game 3 losses, the veteran scored just eight combined points
and attempted less than seven shots per game. Game 2 was a different story, as
Brunson took 14 shots and finished with 12 points in addition to three blocks.
“Obviously Rebekkah has had moments in the series where she doesn’t necessarily
feel great about what’s happened, and she’s someone that just responds,” Reeve
said. “They’re picking their poison and they’re telling her, ‘You’re going to
have to play well.’ And each time she has, we’ve won. From the standpoint of our
team, she is a huge part of our identity, and having her on the floor is really
important to us. I was particularly proud of her today.”
Brunson helped set the tone right away, giving the Lynx an 11-10 lead by
grabbing a loose ball and finishing through contact. It was Minnesota’s first
lead of either game in Los Angeles this series. From there, the Lynx went on a
run to finish the first quarter and were in control most of the night.
Brunson had 13 points by halftime, guiding her team to a 43-31 advantage.
“I absolutely felt like I needed to bring more energy tonight,” Brunson said.
“And I was hoping that my team would be able to feed off that. I think that I
just need to continue to go out there, be aggressive and play hard.”
Brunson, the league’s all-time leader in offensive rebounds, helped Minnesota
absolutely dominate L.A. on the glass Sunday night. The final disparity in
rebounds was 48-28, which is the largest margin ever in a Finals game. The Lynx
starting frontcourt almost outrebounded the Sparks on their own.
In reality, the game’s final score could have easily been more lopsided.
Minnesota took nearly twice as many free throws as L.A. but missed 11 of its 30
attempts.
“They were the most aggressive team. There wasn’t any question,” Sparks coach
Brian Agler said. “They doubled their free throw attempts, and I’m not saying
that to debate the officiating. That’s not the point. The point is that they
were a lot more aggressive, got themselves to the free throw line, gave
themselves opportunities.”
The Lynx had a commanding 58-39 lead late in the third quarter, but in keeping
with the theme of this series, the Sparks made it interesting thanks to a
three-point shooting barrage from Odyssey Sims. Augustus then pushed the lead to
69-57 with about five minutes remaining to quiet the crowd. L.A. never got
closer than eight the rest of the way.
The advanced numbers display a true tale of two games for Augustus. She was a
minus-18 on Friday – the worst in the game – and tied the best mark in Sunday’s
contest with a plus-16 rating.
Augustus said the Lynx are thrilled to be heading back to Minneapolis, where
they will play Game 5 at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of
Minnesota. Or as they call it, “The Barn.”
“Our fans built a home environment that is tough for anyone to play in,”
Augustus said. “The Barn is a different atmosphere where the fans feel like they
are sitting on top of you as opposed to Target Center. It’s going to be amazing
in that gym. It’s going to be loud, our fans are going to have fun, and we’re
going to enjoy being in that atmosphere.”
The Lynx will aim to capture their fourth championship in the last seven years,
which would match the Houston Comets’ record for most titles in WNBA history.
