With WNBA Finals Tied 1-1, Lynx Hit The Road For LA

Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
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Following two games of the WNBA Finals at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, we are basically at the same point where we started Sunday morning.

The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks each began the best-of-five Finals series by trading a game to come to a 1-1 series tie.

And now, we’re down to basically a best-of-three series with the series shifting to Los Angeles and STAPLES Center.

“We’ve all played in so many games, we know how special this series is and this time that we’re in,” Maya Moore said after Game 2 on Tuesday. “It’s all the more motivation to continue to compete and continue to play and treasure every moment that we have together for the rest of the season. It’s really fun. Taking a few moments to take a step back and realize how special this is and use it as fuel to continue to squeeze every drop out of this series.”

Even though we’ve only witnessed two games in the series so far, those two games have been some of the best basketball we’ve seen maybe all season.

In Game 1, Los Angeles got out to a 26-point lead in the opening quarter, until Minnesota fought its way back to take the lead late in the game. The Sparks ultimately came away with a one-point win to take a 1-0 series lead.

In Game 2, it was the opposite. The Lynx jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter, but exactly like Game 1 but with the roles reversed, the Sparks fought back and cut the game to two points with under a minute to go. Minnesota ended up coming away with a two-point victory, evening the series back up at 1-1.

“It’s just two teams that are bringing it every night, and I think our fans have enjoyed it. There’s been some tense moments and whatnot, but that’s what the Finals are all about,” Lindsay Whalen said. ” The best women’s basketball is being played right now here. We’re happy to be a part of it, and we’re happy to keep working and keep playing together and keep accepting every challenge that comes our way and continuing to just try to be as successful as we can.”

There will be at least two more games in this intense back-and-forth championship series, with Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday being played in Los Angeles. Game 5, if necessary, would be back in Minneapolis at Williams Arena on Oct. 4.

“We’re obviously thinking about Game 3 already. We know it’s going to be a fight. At this point in this series, it doesn’t matter where we play. It’s going to be a fight for sure,” Sparks center Candace Parker said after Game 2. “Now it’s a three-game series and we have homecourt advantage, but last year that meant nothing. This year, I think we’ve proven it doesn’t matter where we play. I think it’s going to be a difficult series.”

Both teams will get a two-day break before play resumes in Game 3 at 8 p.m. CT on Friday at STAPLES Center. The game will be aired on ESPN2, 106.1 BOB FM, TuneIn Radio and the Lynx App.

And if the first two games are any indication of how the series will finish, we are about to see some more amazing basketball soon.

“Everybody on the court is such a threat on both teams. You have a lot of great players and two great coaches just countering each other and adjustments are being made,” Whalen said. “This is what it’s all about. This is why we are still here playing is to play in these games. . . It’s some great basketball.”