Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | @alexpshun 

No Maya Moore? No problem.

Most times when a team loses an all-world, MVP-caliber, type player, they tend to falter or struggle a bit; not the Minnesota Lynx. Even without the reigning MVP, the Lynx still managed to beat a very good Indiana Fever team, wining 81-65.

After taking an inadvertent elbow to the nose late in the third quarter, Moore was forced to the locker room for the rest of the game, but that didn’t slow down the Lynx at all, especially with bigs Rebekkah Brunson and Sylvia Fowles having such stellar games (NOTE: Moore finished with 11 points in 23 minutes of play).

Both Brunson and Fowles recorded double-doubles on the night, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 18 points, 14 rebounds, respectively. The Lynx also received a strong game from their bench, showing off their depth and proving just how dangerous they can be come playoff-time. Forward Devereaux Peters added eight points off the bench, including two huge three-pointers while guard Tricia Liston came in and notched five points of her own.

“I thought our defense was terrific and our team concepts were terrific and I thought Jim [Petersen] did a great job in preparing us and players executed it,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “I thought we were hard to play against and that’s always the goal and that led to some decent offense.”

The game was close through the first quarter, but the Lynx continued their hot shooting, turned up their defense and slowly pulled away from Indiana. The Fever took a 20-19 lead for a brief few seconds near the end of the first quarter after Natasha Howard knocked down a free-throw, but Lynx guard Renee Montgomery responded just five seconds later with a three-pointer to close the quarter and give Minnesota back the lead.

Forward Marissa Coleman led Indiana with 16 points and two rebounds, while forward Tamika Catchings added 10 points nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss.

All five Lynx starters scored in double-figures tonight and as a team shot 34-of-64 (53.1 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

“I think we just made each other’s jobs easier tonight,” said Fowles, speaking about Minnesota’s balanced offensive attack. “Just feeding off each other, making extra passes, finding the open player and that pretty much just worked in our favor tonight.”

LEADER OF THE PACK: REBEKKAH BRUNSON AND SYLVIA FOWLES

Yeah these two are going to be co-leaders after tonight’s game. Both players lit it up offensively and played fantastic defensively.

Brunson finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and a steal, while Fowles finished with a game-high 18 points, game-high 14 rebounds and added two steals and two blocked shots on the defensive end.

“Brunson and I have been a blur,” said Fowles, speaking of the chemistry between the two bigs. “We’ll both be going after rebounds until I see that it’s her and then I’ll let it go, or vice-versa. But we’re both eager to go out there and rebound our butts off and when I’m not doing it she does it and when she’s not doing it I try to pick up the slack.”

“I knew in pre-game warmups – I hadn’t seen her like that in awhile,” said Reeve, speaking about Brunson’s performance tonight. “She kind of had this bounce and determination and she just had this look about her.”

If their frontcourt continues playing the way they did tonight, Minnesota will be near impossible to stop come playoff-time.

PLAY OF THE GAME

With just six seconds remaining in the first quarter and the Lynx facing their first deficit of the night, guard Renee Montgomery took the ball off the inbound, ran it the length of the floor and nailed a huge three-point shot just before the buzzer to give the Lynx the lead back and ignite the Target Center.

The Lynx never surrendered the lead after that and even built their lead as large as 16 at multiple points throughout the game.

Starting just her second game this season, Montgomery found a way to make a great play and give the Lynx the needed push to win. Montgomery finished with 13 points, three rebounds and seven assists on the night.

QUOTE-ABLE

“I would do whatever necessary to get on the court and hope for as little distraction as possible, but we’ll see,” said Lynx forward Maya Moore, speaking about the possibility of wearing a mask to protect her nose after receiving an accidental elbow to the face from teammate Sylvia Fowles late in the third quarter. Moore hopes to play Sunday night when the Lynx take on the Liberty. Moore finished with 11 points and two assists on the night.

QUICK HITS

– All five Lynx starters scored in double-figures tonight, the first time that has happened since July 25, 2014 against the San Antonio Stars. The Lynx accomplished such a scoring feat three times in 2014.

– Rebekkah Brunson chipped in 14 points (7-for-10) and grabbed 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and 76^th of her career, hiking her club-leading total in that category to 50. She is now tied with Lauren Jackson for seventh place on the WNBA’s all-time list for career double-doubles.

– Minnesota held the Fever to just 65 points, improving to 11-0 on the season when holding opponents below 70 points, including 55-3 overall since the 2011 season. The Lynx finished 53.1% (34-for-64) from the floor, marking their second-high percentage of the season (55.4% at San Antonio, June 19) and eighth 50%+ effort of the season. Prior to tonight, Minnesota had not shot 50%+ in a game since Aug. 11 vs. the Stars (51.5%). The Lynx have topped 50% on eight occasions in 2015, matching last year’s total and are 7-1 this season in that category.

– The final 16-point margin represents Minnesota’s biggest home win vs. the Fever in 10 years, since a 66-45 victory on July 19, 2005. The Lynx have now beaten Indiana nine consecutive times, although each of the previous seven were by single-digit spreads.

UP NEXT

The Lynx will play again on Sunday night when they take on the New York Liberty back at Target Center. The game will begin at 6:00 P.M. CT