Lynx carry six-game win streak into road matchup with Wings (Jun 30, 2018)
The defending champion Minnesota Lynx are the hottest team in the WNBA with a six-game winning streak that includes a June 19 victory over the Dallas Wings, their opponent Sunday at College Park Center.
The 91-83 win was Minnesota's second of the season over Dallas, with both games played at the Lynx's Target Center.
The Wings (7-7) get another shot the Lynx (9-6), this time at home and with confidence because of how they played against Minnesota in the last matchup.
Dallas nearly erased a 21-point deficit in the second half, cutting the lead to 87-83 on a Skylar Diggs-Smith 3-pointer, but Minnesota converted its last eight free-throw attempts to secure the win.
"We stepped it up on defense, got that look out of our eyes and stepped it up," Diggs-Smith said. "When we play like that, I think we're one of the hardest teams to play with. When we're able to get into our game, running our cuts hard and playing desperate, that's how we've got to be for 40 minutes."
In a marquee post matchup, Minnesota's Sylvia Fowles had 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Dallas' Liz Cambage finished with 16 points, nine boards and five assists.
"Same old, same old," Fowles said when asked about playing Cambage. "A lot of bodies there getting banged up, hit, very physical, but I wouldn't want it any other way."
Dallas returns home after a two-game road trip in which it lost to Los Angeles and defeated Las Vegas.
The Wings ranked third in the league in scoring at 84.7 points per game, but an abundance of turnovers has affected their overall flow. They are second in the league in turnovers, averaging 15.1 per game.
In a previous matchup with Minnesota, Dallas committed 22 turnovers.
"We just didn't take care of the ball when we needed to, especially in that first quarter (when Minnesota took a 25-10 lead)," Dallas coach Fred Williams said.
Minnesota's defense will be tested by Dallas' potent scoring, but the Lynx appear to be prepared, ranking third in the WNBA in points allowed (78.4 per game). Minnesota is also tough on the boards, ranking third in rebounds per game (36.3).
In an 85-74 win over visiting Atlanta on Friday, Minnesota was led by Maya Moore's 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and Fowles' 13 points and 15 rebounds.
