Lynx deliver complete game in crushing Connecticut

Once again the Lynx are showing a good sense of timing.

Struggling with up-and-down play since four-fifths of the starting lineup returned from the Rio Olympics, the Lynx put together a 93-79 victory over the Connecticut Sun at Target Center on Sunday night, a victory that was pretty much wire-to-wire.

"I feel like we got our groove back," said Sylvia Fowles, who capped off a rather spectacular weekend with 18 points, eight rebounds and five of Minnesota's 12 steals. "I don't know where it went. But it wasn't flowing like this the last few games. Tonight we definitely made a statement."

And that's important, considering the Lynx (24-5), who won at home for the ninth time in a row, will now embark on a four-game road trip. It starts Tuesday in Los Angeles in a nationally televised game against the Sparks with the top record in the WNBA on the line.

The Sparks (24-5), who have righted the ship with three victories after losing four out of five, beat Indianapolis on Sunday to keep pace with the Lynx.

The winner of Tuesday's game will have the league's top record with four games left for each team.

So for the Lynx to be back in the groove is a timely thing.

"For four quarters, getting done what we wanted to get done, on both sides of the ball, it's a great step forward for us," said Maya Moore, who also had quite a weekend. Moore scored 27 in Friday's victory over Washington and 24 Sunday, including a 4-for-5 showing on three-pointers.

The Sun had beaten the Lynx twice this season and entered Sunday's game having won eight of its past 12 games.

"I feel we were on the game plan," said guard Lindsay Whalen. "And we had a lot of energy. Everybody fed off each other. It was a really good team win, start to finish."

The Lynx shot 53.7 percent, outrebounded the Sun and forced myriad Connecticut turnovers.

And, in best Lynx fashion, the team showed a killer instinct.

Up 33-32 with 4 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first half, the Lynx took control of the game with a 21-5 run that ended 2:48 into the third quarter.

That included an 11-2 run to end the first half that started with Moore's three-pointer. Moore had two more three-pointers as the Lynx opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run.

The Lynx weren't about to let the Sun back in this one. Minnesota's lead grew to as large as 19 in the third and stood at 18 entering the fourth.

"This was a complete game for us," Reeve said. "For four quarters, we were locked in. It wasn't a perfect game, but we had some really good moments. We came in at halftime feeling really good about what we were doing, and we carried it over."

Now the Lynx have to take that to Los Angeles.

"Should be a great game," Reeve said. "Nationally televised. I think everybody is excited about that. Obviously L.A., I'm sure, is feeling really good. They're back at home. I mean, it should be everything that it's billed to be."