Recap: Lynx end Sun’s win streak in dominating 89-57 victory

The Minnesota Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 89-57 on Friday, ending the league leaders’ seven-game win streak. Minnesota never trailed and led by as many as 38 points late in the third quarter.

Sylvia Fowles led the Lynx with 17 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. Fowles was also stellar on defense, adding 3 blocks and 2 steals.

Odyssey Sims had a near double-double of her own, adding 12 points and 9 assists. She added 3 steals, turning this one into an and-one layup in transition:

Though Fowles and Sims were among the Lynx’s biggest contributors, this game was actually a very even effort from start to finish. Minnesota dished 27 assists and showed great ball movement throughout the night. Six players — Fowles, Sims, Napheesa Collier, Damiris Dantas, Danielle Robinson and Stephanie Talbot — scored in double figures.

Seimone Augustus scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting, which was enough to move into fifth on the WNBA’s all-time career field goals list.

As for the Sun, this was a game to forget. They had trouble getting into a rhythm and they were held to 30.9 percent shooting. Bria Holmes led Connecticut’s scorers with 10 points.

This game didn’t change the official standings for the Lynx, but it still gave them a boost. Minnesota (12-11) is still in seventh place and just half-game ahead of the Phoenix Mercury. However, it is also just half-game behind the Seattle Storm for sixth place and a potential first-round home playoff game.

The Sun (16-7) now have an identical record to the Washington Mystics, but hold the first-place tiebreaker after going 2-1 in their head-to-head matches this season.

Next up

The Lynx begin a two-game road trip starting on Sunday, Aug. 11, when they travel to the nation’s capital and play the Washington Mystics. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. ET.

The Sun continue their road trip and play the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, Aug. 11. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. ET.

What else happened on Friday?

The Chicago Sky defeated the Las Vegas Aces 87-84 on the road. Courtney Vandersloot scored 16 points and dished 13 assists for Chicago. Vandersloot also moved up to sixth place on the WNBA’s career assists list. Liz Cambage scored 28 points for Las Vegas.