Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate |@alexpshun 

When a team has a great starting lineup, they are a good team. When a team has great depth, they are a great team.

The Minnesota Lynx proved tonight that they are a great team, defeating the Los Angeles Sparks 82-76.

Lynx forward Maya Moore led the way once again, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds and three steals, including 10 points in the third quarter. Moore has now scored 20 or more points in nine-straight games, four shy of the all-time record 13-straight games set by guard Diana Taurasi in 2006-2007.

“I just keep playing, keep cutting hard, keep believing and keep trying to fight.”

Guard Lindsay Whalen, playing in her first game back since suffering an eye injury against the Tulsa Shock a few weeks ago, was absolutely phenomenal.

“I think [Whalen] was chomping at the bit and she was angry too,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “I think she has been so good for us leadership-wise…there’s a lot of noise and stuff around us but she’s just so good at locking-in and focusing and helping her team do that and I just thought she provided great leadership to start.”

Whalen finished with 24 points and six assists, but it wasn’t so much the number of baskets she scored, but the times at which she scored them. When the Lynx were struggling offensively and in dire need of a bucket, or when the Sparks began to mount a run and get back in the game, Whalen would, as if on-cue, get a bucket and right things for Minnesota.

Center Sylvia Fowles made her Lynx debut tonight, and she did not disappoint. Fowles played great defense all night long, deflecting passes, getting steals and altering shots. Then she went to work offensively. Fowles scored five-straight points to open the fourth quarter for the Lynx and finished with 11 points and five rebounds on the night.

Sparks forward Candace Parker made her season debut tonight after sitting out the first half of the season to rest, and had kind of an up-and-down night. Parker finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting (44 percent), seven rebounds and nine assists. Center Jantel Lavender led the Sparks scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss.

LEADER OF THE PACK: LINDSAY WHALEN

Sorry Maya Moore. No disrespect to your 27-point performance, but Whalen was scary-good tonight.

Whalen dropped 24 points and added six assists while remaining in constant control offensively and making solid stops defensively.

“It’s just what Lindsay does,” said Reeve, speaking about Whalen’s big night.

Whalen’s night included another huge three-pointer, a beautiful assist on a fast-break and a jaw-dropping reverse layup that, quite honestly, I question if she even looked at the hoop when she put it up. Whalen was great in all aspects and showed no signs of rust whatsoever; her teammates were impressed.

“She’s trouble,” joked Moore. ” She just quietly had 24 and six…she was finding people, confident, talking, leading and just being herself.”

If being herself means putting up 24 points, then I think the Lynx will happily take that from Whalen every single night.

PLAY OF THE GAME

It’s hard to argue with such an incredible and masterful layup like the one that Whalen dropped home, but guard Renee Montgomery made the play of the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Lynx were holding a solid lead over Los Angeles after Moore made a baseline jumper to extend their lead, but it’s what happened on the other end that sealed the victory.

With the shot clock winding down, Montgomery stepped in front of a blazing Kristi Toliver and took the charge, causing the turnover and handing the ball back to Minnesota to wrap up the win.

QUOTEABLE

“It was feast or famine. We were active. We had 27 deflections and when we helped, we helped well,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve speaking about the discrepancy between the Spark’s shooting percentage (56.4 percent) and number of turnovers (22).

UP NEXT

The Lynx have a short turnaround, playing again on Friday night at Target Center against the Atlanta Dream. The game will begin at 7:00 P.M. CT