Seimone Augustus calls the Tulsa Shock's style of play "chaotic basketball.''
It is a brand of physical, athletic play accented by a harassing defense that has made a habit this season of getting under the skin of the Minnesota Lynx.
"They throw so much at you that you have to figure things out on the go,'' Augustus said Friday, Aug. 31, after Minnesota recorded a 92-83 victory over Tulsa in front of a sellout crowd of 9,213 at Target Center. "They do things to us that make things really tough.''
Sound familiar?
It's a similar recipe to what the league-leading Lynx have been doing for nearly two seasons as they tear through the WNBA toward what they hope will be a successful championship defense.
Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen all scored 19 points for the Lynx (21-4), who staggered throughout the first half before springing to life in the second en route to their 11th consecutive victory over the Shock (6-20).
Augustus had 18 points and Taj McWilliams-Franklin added 14 to extend their lead over second-place Los Angeles to 2-1/2 games. Tuesday, the Lynx play host to Los Angeles, which defeated Minnesota 96-90 on July 5.
Tulsa defeated Los Angeles on Thursday night and appeared poised to do the same to the Lynx after building 56-48 halftime lead.
The Shock, at times, ran circles around the Lynx and sneaked behind Minnesota's defense for easy baskets. Tulsa whipped the ball around the perimeter, too, and made shots just ahead
of the Lynx's defense."They are a gifted team that plays hard,'' said Brunson, who also had 11 rebounds for her fourth consecutive double-double. "This was an important game with lessons to learn. They threw adversity at us and we had to respond.''
They did so in the form of a 29-11 run in the third quarter that turned an eight-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead.
"Champions find ways to win in the face of challenges,'' McWilliams-Franklin said. "That team presented some challenges, but we were able to weather the storm. Michael Jordan had his moments when he didn't play well against lower teams, but he found ways in the end. It's how you react, and for us, it took way too long to react. Fortunately, everything worked out. Tulsa has the ability to make things uncomfortable for us and we have to respond to that.''
When practices begin later this month for the postseason, perhaps the Lynx might want to consider inviting Tulsa to be their scrimmage partners.
McWilliams-Franklin likes the idea.
"They are that one team that can really help you prepare,'' she said.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve doesn't think much of the idea.
"We're going to be tested,'' she said. "We've got plenty of tests.''
Reeve praised Tulsa for not playing out the string, and instead, playing with a high intensity level implemented by first-year coach Gary Kloppenburg.
"Frankly, this team doesn't have a whole lot to play for,'' Reeve said of Tulsa. "But it sure doesn't look like that when you watch them. Every time they play, they're going out there to win games. ... This team is trying to win right now. They're playing extremely hard, and I think they're playing extremely well. To me, at this point, if I had a vote in the coach of the year, Coach Kloppenburg is Coach of the Year.''
For all that Tulsa threw at the Lynx, it wasn't enough to derail Minnesota from winning its eighth consecutive game and fifth in a row at home.
"The one thing we did well was not panic,'' Augustus said. "We learned some things.''
The Lynx can thank the Shock for that.
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