It shouldn’t take your playoff life being on the line, but maybe the situation at hand jolted something in the Los Angeles Sparks — no pun intended — as they entered Game 2 of their first-round series against the Minnesota Lynx down 0-1. Or maybe it was having the home crowd behind them, as the whooping and hollering exaggerated the impact of normal plays and made them great. Whatever it is it worked, as the Sparks live to fight another day, defeating the Lynx 81-71 to force a series-deciding Game 3.
After an even first quarter, Candace Parker and company cut it in high gear in the second, outscoring the Lynx 29-12 to take a 53-35 lead going into the half.