Lynx blow 24-point lead, survive to go 5-0

A first quarter blow-out and two buzzer-beater shots by the Lynx led to its fifth straight victory over the Fever, 74-71.

"It was a little closer than we expected, but coach is a mastermind at what she does so we just kinda go with the flow, and thankfully we pulled it out, got some stops and made some plays down the stretch," Seimone Augustus said.

The first quarter came as no surprise as the Lynx took a quick lead over the Fever as Lindsay Whalen scored a quick 10 points to push Minnesota over Indiana in the first quarter.

The Lynx were in complete control of the Fever as they went on a 19-4 run near the end of the first quarter. The Fever struggled offensively shooting 2 of 22, and reasonably so.

The Lynx are considered one of the best defensive teams in the league, which they showed in this game. The first quarter ended in fashion for the Indiana as McCarville made a 3-point buzzer beater sending Fever into the second quarter down, 29-6.

Although the Fever is known for its points off the bench, it only had 12 points off the bench compared to the Lynx's 22 points. Indiana showed more offensive production, but it didn't slow down Minnesota's roll. Everything was going Minnesota's way as the Lynx rolled through the second quarter.

However, a hard hit sent Perkins to the floor as she clinched her lower back and exited the game. But Minnesota's Natasha Howard said not on my watch, and sank a back-to-back buzzer beater to send the Lynx into halftime with a 50-27 lead.

Point by point, the Fever tried to claw its way back. Indiana's offense steadily got better as they game went on. Five quick points from Tamika Catchings helped give the Fever some momentum, but Maggie Lucas went down with a knee contusion at the end of the third as the Indiana entered the fourth quarter down, 69-53.

A 24-point Lynx lead was cut down to three in the fourth quarter as Indiana attempted to win its first road game of the season at Target Center. A massive shift in momentum as the Lynx started to rack up turnovers that resulted in Fever points.

With 33 seconds left on the clock, a single shot by Indiana could've tied the score at 73. However, the Lynx took advantage of the clock and kept possession of the ball until the shot clock expired. The Fever picked up its second loss of the regular season as the Lynx won its fifth straight game, tying the Los Angeles Sparks for a 5-0 record.

Augustus and Lindsay Whalen both led the Lynx with 12 points while Indiana's Tiffany Mitchell led both teams with 16 points. Fever made a comeback in the fourth closing the gap to two points, but the Lynx took the win and gave Indiana its first road loss, 74-71.

"We just kinda played off our defense. I think we had like 12 deflections in the first quarter which is something we chart every game. We want to try and get at least 20 deflections every game.

"We started with 12 deflections which led to a lot of baskets and easy transitions and it kinda just got out offense flowing probably a little bit earlier than we expected it to," Augustus said.

The Lynx will go on the road to face the New York Liberty Tuesday, as Minnesota looks to continue its win streak.