WNBA
Pat Borzi, Contributor, espnW.com 7y

Lindsay Whalen ignites Lynx, puts Minnesota on brink of semifinal sweep

WNBA, Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the "old truck," as Seimone Augustus recently called the Minnesota Lynx, Lindsay Whalen is the fuel to the engine. The truck might run decently without Minnesota's point guard. But the 35-year-old, six-time All-Star makes everything hum.

It hasn't been a typical season for Whalen, even before she missed 12 games with a broken bone in her left hand. Her scoring was down. Her turnovers were up.

But one play from the third quarter of Minnesota's 93-83 victory Thursday over Washington -- a win that put the Lynx up 2-0 the best-of-five semifinals -- tells you all you need to know about Whalen's value to the three-time WNBA champions.

Whalen wasn't much of a factor in Game 1, finishing with one inconsequential basket and two assists. Thursday night she had nine points and seven assists in 20 minutes, modest compared to Sylvia Fowles' 25 points and nine rebounds on the day the Minnesota center was named the league's most valuable player. But with the Lynx struggling and trailing by four in the third quarter, Whalen -- back at Williams Arena, where she starred for the University of Minnesota -- turned a negative play into a backbreaker.

Annoyed at missing a driving layup, Whalen hesitated in the backcourt. Washington's Krystal Thomas grabbed the rebound and fired an outlet pass to her left, but it wasn't hard enough and Whalen leaped to intercept it. Thomas blocked the path to the basket, so Whalen found Rebekkah Brunson at the foul line for a teardrop jumper. The crowd of 9,033 at The Barn went berserk.

"I was just mad I missed that layup. I just thought maybe I could catch one, see what I can get," Whalen said. "Sometimes you can get those steals and make something happen. I was really ambitious at that point. ... It ended up being a good momentum play for us."

It took a few more possessions for the Lynx to get rolling, and Whalen did her best to spark it. She won a jump ball from Kristi Toliver. She blocked a shot. She made an over-the-shoulder catch of a wayward pass at the sideline near the Washington bench, then fed Maya Moore for a 3-pointer that tied the score and started an 11-3 run that put the Lynx ahead, 69-64.

Whalen was exhausted, and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sat her until 4 minutes, 45 seconds remained. Washington regained the lead, 75-73, but it didn't last.

A Fowles putback tied it. Moore converted a conventional 3-point play for the lead. Then, the killer -- Whalen took Tierra Ruffin-Pratt to the basket for a layup that brought the crowd to its feet. Whalen added another layup in the final 1:23, the first a driving reverse around a screen and handoff from Fowles. The Lynx finished on a 20-8 run, with Whalen contributing seven points.

"Lindsay was unbelievable in the minutes that she played," Reeve said. "She found a way to will our team. Stealing the outlet pass, all those plays. Offensively she really helped us. She was really amped up. It was vintage Lindsay Whalen, and it was really cool to have it happen in The Barn."

Fowles and Moore (22 points) led four Lynx in double figures, balanced scoring that counteracted 25 points apiece from Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver. Moore had 11 points in the final five minutes and 16 in the second half. Brunson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

"We got kind of stuck with two people having to do all of the scoring," Washington coach Mike Thibault said. "I thought our bench did a good job coming in, but it was struggle to get good shots up. I think Elena only got a handful of shots in the second half, and we need to get her some different looks for Sunday."

This was the Lindsay Whalen the Lynx -- who can close out the series by winning Game 3 on Sunday (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET) in Washington -- were waiting for all season.

For the second consecutive year, Whalen spent the offseason in the United States, training and saving her legs for the WNBA. With Fowles becoming the primary scoring option, Whalen was content with playing limited minutes, running the offense and keeping things moving. She averaged a career-low 8.0 points, and her 4.1 assists per game represented the second-fewest of her career. And her player efficiency rating, a metric favoring scorers, fell to 12.1, also a career low.

But Whalen's smarts and moxie still make her the one Reeve trusts with a game in the balance. The Lynx started 4-5 without her before finishing on a three-game winning streak to secure the No. 1 playoff seed.

Returning to practice last week, Whalen favored her left hand, not using it much. The Whalen who willed the Lynx to victory Thursday night showed no such hesitation.

"Weezy was great," said Augustus, in the midst of a playoff renaissance herself with 15 points and six assists. "I like to see the aggression she had, getting to the basket, the Weezy-like shot -- the jelly roll, we call it -- the layups."

And the steal? "That's vintage her," she said. "She always finds a way to get the crowd going. That steal kind of ignited everything."

Reeve began the night with one major concern: Fowles. Receiving the MVP trophy two hours before the game, Fowles cried her way through an emotional news conference. WNBA president Lisa Borders presented Fowles the trophy again at midcourt before the game, and the standing ovation touched Fowles as well.

Turned out Reeve's concern was unfounded.

"I knew the task at hand," Fowles said. "Weezy talked to me. She gave me some words of encouragement, just go out there and play the way I'm capable of playing. I took it from there."

So did Whalen.

"She's our emotional leader," Moore said. "When she plays with the pace and the body language and the look in her eye, it's just so great for us. We all have a great comfort when she's playing like that. She sets the tone for us, and people kind of fall in line and do what they do based off her energy."

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