Augustus Scores 25 To Rally Lynx Past Sparks

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Seimone Augustus scored 25 points to rally the Minnesota Lynx from nine points down in the second half in a 92-84 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night.

Rebekkah Brunson scored 17 points, Lindsay Whalen had 14 and Maya Moore added 11 for the defending champion Lynx (3-0).

Augustus, who shot 11 for 17 from the field, scored six points in the final 4:17 and Candice Wiggins' tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining put Minnesota ahead for good.

The Lynx closed with a 10-2 run after the Kristi Toliver's 3-pointer tied the score at 82-all with 2:47 to go.

Toliver and Candace Parker scored 23 points each to lead the Sparks (2-1) and rookie Nnemkadi Ogwumike added a season-high 20 points and nine rebounds.

Parker's layup with 3.9 seconds to go in the first half gave the Sparks a 47-44 lead at the break. Ogwumike made two free throws in the opening minute of the third quarter and Parker hit a jumper to put Los Angeles up seven.

Whalen's layup with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third capped the Lynx's 8-2 run to pull to 53-52. However, the Sparks scored the next eight points, to stretch their lead to 61-52 with 4:53 to go in the quarter.

Minnesota had a 6-0 run, capped by Whalen's jumper with 9:05 remaining in the fourth to tie the score at 70.

Neither team led by more than two points until Moore's jumper with 3:15 left put the Lynx ahead 82-79.

After winning their first two games by an average of 20 points, the Lynx looked poised for another rout early, scoring the game's first seven points before the Sparks chipped their way back. Parker had eight points in the first quarter as the Sparks tied the score at 17 with 3:40 to go in the period.

However, Minnesota closed the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 30-19 lead.

The Lynx were played by turnovers in the first half, committing 13 that led to 11 points for the Sparks. Parker scored 17 points and Tolliver had 14 to help Los Angeles take its three-point lead at the break.