It was not, the Lynx insisted all week, a rematch. This wasn't 2012. There were some new faces. And three seasons, in basketball years, can be a lifetime.
But the more things change …
With Briann January leading the way, with Tamika Catchings leading the defense, with characteristic grit and physical play, the Indiana Fever came into Target Center on Sunday and took Game 1 of the WNBA Finals 75-69.
It didn't seem so much a rematch of 2012 as a redux. Three years ago the Fever used that opening win to take the series three games to one.
"We didn't play well enough to win," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "To be honest with you, we have to play way better to have a shot at winning this championship.''
January had 19 points and six assists. She was one of four starters and five players in double figures. Marissa Coleman had 16, five in the final quarter. Catchings, who scored 12, said this was the best she'd ever seen January play.
The Lynx got a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds from Maya Moore. Center Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and 11 rebounds. But the two also combined for 11 turnovers. The rest of the Lynx lineup made only seven shots. The Lynx also missed eight of 23 free throws.
The Fever shot only 36 percent but made up for it with 22 second-chance points and by hitting all 16 free throws.