A historic showdown between two undefeated teams came down to the wire, as it took a three-pointer in the final seconds for the now 13-0 Minnesota Lynx to earn a 72-69 win over the Sparks at Staples Center on Tuesday.
The Sparks were up by two with less than a minute left, but the Lynx tied it after a missed three-point attempt by Candace Parker. Then, with 2.9 seconds left, Minnesota guard Renee Montgomery sank a three. A subsequent try for a three-pointer by Sparks guard Kristi Toliver went in but was milliseconds too late and her foot was on the arc.
"Renee hits the three in the corner; that changes everything. There were a lot of great plays made, but that was the one that sealed the deal for them," Toliver said.
The parity between the Western Conference rivals was clear in a game with 17 lead changes over the 40 minutes of play.
Whether because of Minnesota's defense — second in the league behind L.A.'s — or something else, the Sparks (11-1) were uncharacteristically sloppy in the first quarter, shooting 33.3% and looking hesitant to drive to the basket.
The Lynx, however, were aggressive right away, scoring 14 in the paint in the first quarter and leading by as many as eight points. They also were winning on the glass, snagging 16 rebounds to L.A.'s six.
The Sparks got on track in the second quarter, improving their shooting percentage to 43.3 by halftime, helped along by nine points off fastbreaks, including one in the final seconds of the half by guard Essence Carson that gave them a 39-38 lead.