By simply looking at the box score of Game 3 the WNBA Finals, it would be safe to assume the Minnesota Lynx lost by at least 20. Neither Seimone Augustus nor Lindsay Whalen scored a single point, and while Maya Moore finished the game with 16 second-half points, she too put up a bagel in the first half. The final score was 85-74 in favor of the Los Angeles Sparks, but it really could have been worse.
Had the Lynx managed to steal this game, the story would have been all about the tremendous effort of their bench that was the only reason this game was close. Renee Montgomery led the Lynx in scoring for much of the night, and lineups featuring Montgomery, Jia Perkins and rookie Alexis Jones with Moore and MVP Sylvia Fowles were what brought Minnesota back into the game. This was after the starters were played off the floor to the tune of early 11 and 13 point deficits in the first and third quarters, respectively.
On the evidence of this game alone, the Sparks seem to have figured out how to defend the Lynx’s starters: prevent Fowles from getting the ball at all costs by jumping passing lanes, and send almost everyone on the floor at her if she successfully receives the ball. Of Minnesota’s 15 turnovers, many of them seemed to be on attempted post entries.
While credit should go to the Los Angeles defense for invading passing lanes and great anticipation of the Lynx’s ideas, so many passes looked easy to read a couple of seconds in advance. The creativity just wasn’t there from the starting lineup on offense, and an eight-point first quarter was even worse than Game 1’s 11 (but solid defense held the Sparks to just 17 compared to 32 in Game 1).
A recollection of Minnesota’s first half issues would be incomplete without noting Moore’s stats from the half: 8:16 on the floor, 0-1 from the field, 1 rebound, 3 fouls. Two quick fouls early and another early in the second quarter took her completely out of the game. A halftime deficit of only six points was a minor miracle.
Minnesota needed outside shooting to unlock their game on offense, and Montgomery (2-6 from three) and Jones (3-5) provided that. Three straight threes in the second quarter closed an 11-point Sparks lead to just two, and a triple from Moore was the catalyst for a 7-0 run that closed the deficit to just one at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
That was as close as the game got. After a move from Fowles kept the deficit to one at 58-57 with 6:57 to go, the Lynx went scoreless for more than five minutes, including one critical possession in which they had three clear shots to tie or take the lead, and by the time that score came with 1:25 to go, the deficit was back to 11 and the game was effectively over.
Coach Cheryl Reeve remembered that critical possession too.
“Well, if I remember correctly, we had a really good possession where we had about four shots on goal that I thought were all good shots,” Reeve said. “We couldn’t get one to go down, and then LA executed their offense, again, if I remember correctly, it was a big three on the backside. They screened our backside. Not new, we were not alert to it, so bad combination.”
Still, context is important. After getting smacked around in the first quarter of Game 1, the Lynx starters dominated the first quarter of Game 2, 28-10. However, it seems that for large portions of this series, the Lynx’s best lineup, the lineup they start games with and prefer to close games with, has seemed completely figured out by the opposition.
Lindsay Whalen sat at 6:56 in the third quarter and did not appear again. Seimone Augustus was out from 3:32 in the third to 3:45 in the fourth, and her only statistical contribution to the game’s close was a turnover. Rebekkah Brunson did not play in the fourth quarter. While this was just one game, the Lynx have no more leeway for another bad start in Game 4 on Sunday.
“Our starters didn’t compete in the way that we had hoped that we would start the game,” Reeve said.
Game 4 is Sunday evening in Los Angeles, and the Lynx need a better start on offense. The method sounds simple when Moore says it.
“Just continuing to be persistent and find ways to put the ball in the hole early on, to make sure that we get off to a better rhythm.”
So far, the team that comes out firing has won all three games this series. And while no game between these two games is that easily quantified, improvement in that area seems essential if the Lynx want to bring the series back to Minnesota and prevent the Sparks from a second straight WNBA title.
