Wings-Lynx Preview
Red-hot Minnesota star Maya Moore poured in 40 points, but the suddenly inconsistent defending-champion Lynx lost to Eastern Conference bottom-feeder Connecticut in overtime on Thursday.
Minnesota will look to rebound from that disappointing loss Saturday, when the Dallas Wings visit Target Center.
The Wings could be without star forward Glory Johnson, who injured her right foot in the fourth quarter of Dallas' 95-90 overtime loss at Atlanta on Friday.
After opening the season with a record 13 straight wins, the Lynx (15-4) have gone 2-3, including Thursday's surprising loss to the Sun (5-13). Minnesota led by 11 with two minutes to play, but allowed Connecticut to rally back and force overtime.
"We have to be smarter with the ball down the stretch and understand how to close out games consistently," Moore told reporters after the loss to Connecticut.
Moore scored 38 of her 40 points in the second half and overtime. She had 33 points in her previous outing, an 87-82 win over the Chicago Sky.
The Wings (9-11) will miss Johnson, if she can't go. She leads the team in rebounding and is third in scoring. She was on pace for her second straight 20-rebound game, before going down after a collision with Atlanta's Elizabeth Williams. Johnson did not return to the game and appeared to be in pain on the bench.
Dallas is second in the league in scoring, but second to last in points allowed.
The Wings have lost four of six overall.
Minnesota beat Dallas 80-63 on June fourth and has won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Wings franchise, which relocated to Texas from Tulsa, Oklahoma this season.
All five starters for the Lynx scored in double figures in the June win over Dallas, led by Sylvia Fowles with 16 points.
Aerial Powers scored 20 points off the bench for a short-handed Dallas squad in the loss.
Johnson and Skylar Diggins missed the first meeting with the Lynx. Johnson was serving a suspension from the league, and Diggins was trying to get from an injury that limited her playing time early in the season.
