Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | @alexpshun 

Minnesota Lynx (1-0) at Los Angeles Sparks (0-1) | 2:00 P.M. CT

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With a game one Western Conference Semifinals win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night, the Minnesota Lynx have put themselves in position to sweep the Sparks this afternoon and punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals.

After winning 67-65 on their home floor, the Lynx now head to Los Angeles to try and steal a game on the road, and it won’t be easy.

Lynx forward Maya Moore and guard Seimone Augustus, playing in her first game back from a sprained left foot injury, led Minnesota, scoring 33 points and 17 points, respectively.

“No question, Seimone came through for us,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “Her second-half was really good. She’s a shot-maker, that’s what the playoffs are about, great players making great plays and Seimone made some really big ones for us.”

Guard Lindsay Whalen returned for Minnesota as well after missing the end of the regular season due to a strained right Achilles but had a rather quiet night, finishing with just two points, two rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes of playing time. Whalen will look to improve on her performance in game two tonight, and the Lynx are going to need it if they hope to pull off the upset road win.

The Lynx played well and got the game one win, but will surely be looking for a more balanced offensive attack tonight. In the second half of game one, Moore and Augustus combined to score 31 points while the rest of the Lynx players combined to score just three.

“We’re just playing and whoever ends up putting it in the hole, our team doesn’t care,” said Moore, speaking about her huge third quarter performance in which she scored 15 of Minnesota’s 22 points in the frame.

The Sparks, despite the loss, have to be pleased with their performance in game one, taking a very good performance by Minnesota and still losing by only two points. To make the game even closer, Los Angeles will aim to clean up their turnovers

On Friday night, the Sparks committed 15 turnovers in the game which led to 23 Lynx points, including the dreaded third quarter which saw them commit seven of those turnovers which led to 13 Lynx points. Conversely, the Lynx had just 12 miscues which led to 13 Los Angeles points; the difference, of course, being that the Sparks’ turnovers turned into easy offense on the fast break for the Lynx whereas Minnesota’s turnovers did not for Los Angeles. The Lynx finished with 14 fast-break points while the Sparks finished with just six, something the Lynx will surely look to recreate once again tonight while the Sparks will likely aim to better their transition defense.

Game two could ultimately be decided by whichever team’s bench gives their respective team better production. In game one, the Sparks managed nine points, five rebounds and five assists from their bench while the Lynx saw their bench produce four points, four rebounds and five assists. Now obviously this is the playoffs and rotations are going to get shorter, but if game one is any indication of how game two is going to be then points will surely be at a premium and both teams are going to need to manufacture points any which way they can get them.

LAST MEETING

Game one was Friday night and it was a tough, defensive-oriented playoff basketball game that saw the Lynx defeat the Sparks 67-65 and take a 1-0 series lead. Forward Maya Moore led Minnesota scoring a playoff career-high 33 points to go with her five rebounds and four steals. Guard Seimone Augustus chipped in 17 points, four assists and two steals in her first game back since suffering a sprained foot injury which caused her to miss the last eight regular-season games.

Forward Candace Parker led the Sparks with 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot, while forward Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot of her own in the loss.

Here are some quick notes about their meeting on Friday night:

–The Minnesota Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 67-65 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lynx are now 17-2 (.895) all-time at Target Center in the WNBA Playoffs, marking the best home winning percentage for any team in league postseason history. Overall, the Lynx are 24-11 (.686) in the postseason, also a league-best percentage.

–Minnesota can complete the series swept on Sunday in Los Angeles. The Lynx have swept their opening-round series the past two seasons, having swept San Antonio in the Western Conference Semifinals last season and Seattle in 2013.

–Maya Moore finished the game with playoff career-high and game-high 33 points. She scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished the second half with 21 points, which was just eight less than Los Angeles combined. Moore’s previous playoff career-high was set last season against Phoenix when she pumped in 32 points on Aug. 31. Last season, she averaged 19.8 points (44.0%), 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists in five playoff games.

–After missing the final eight regular-season games with a sprained left foot, Seimone Augustus returned to the Lynx starting lineup tonight. She finished the game with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, including four assists and two rebounds in 36 minutes. In five playoff games last season, Augustus tallied 18.6 points (44.3%) and 3.2 rebounds.

–The Lynx were outscored 21-11 in the second quarter and headed into the half down 33-36. Minnesota responded in the third quarter, outscoring the Los Angeles 22-13. Moore led the Lynx in the frame, scoring 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and 2-2 for three-point range.  The Lynx shot 57.1% (8-for-14) in the quarter. Augustus and Moore combined for 31 points in the second half, while the rest of the team had just three points.

–Minnesota held Los Angeles to 65 points on 43.3% from the field. The Lynx finished the 2015 regular season 12-0 when holding their opponent under 70 points and are 55-3 since 2011 when holding their opponent under 70 points.

–The Lynx forced 15 Los Angeles turnovers which they converted into 23 points, including seven in the third quarter for 13 points. Minnesota finished the game with 12 miscues for 13 Sparks points.

–Los Angeles’ Candace Parker posted a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds for the Sparks while Nneka Ogumike chipped in 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

KEY MATCH-UP: MINNESOTA’S FRONTCOURT VS. LOS ANGELES’ FRONTCOURT

On Friday night, the Sparks contained Minnesota’s frontcourt, holding them to a combined 11 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and a blocked shot, solid numbers but with obvious room for improvement. The Sparks, on the other hand, watched their frontcourt produce 28 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

Forward Rebekkah Brunson and center Sylvia Fowles played solid defense against the Sparks frontcourt but manged just 10 combined shots while facing double and triple-teams all night long offensively. Credit Los Angeles with a great defensive game-plan, keeping the Lynx post players quiet for most of the game while shutting down passing lanes to the paint, but Minnesota will need to get increased production from their post, especially when playing in a hostile Los Angeles environment.

The Sparks frontcourt had a very good game, including a 12 point, seven rebound performance from center Jantel Lavender. Including their four regular season match-ups, Lavender has notched double-doubles in three of the five games and will likely need to get another one this afternoon to get Los Angeles a win.

Both teams have fantastic scorers in the backcourt like Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus for Minnesota and Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike for Los Angeles, but, as Sparks’ head coach Brian Agler said after Friday night’s game, with game two likely to be another defensive-oriented game, the game will likely be played in the half-court, putting the outcome of the game heavily on the shoulders of the team’s respective frontcourt players.

Whichever team wins in the frontcourt will likely be the team that wins the game.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Lynx: PG – Whalen, SG – Augustus, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C – Fowles

Sparks: PG – Toliver, SG – Beard, SF – Ogwumike, PF – Parker, C – Lavender