MINNEAPOLIS _ Everyone else on the floor was laughing and joking, enjoying a halftime ceremony that honored 20 of the top players in WNBA history. Lindsay Whalen, though, got her commemorative ring, then hustled off to the locker room with a perturbed expression.
The Lynx guard had been one of the few bright spots for her team in the first half of its WNBA Finals opener against Los Angeles.
On an afternoon when the Lynx struggled in all facets of their game, she was eager to set things right as quickly as possible _ but her efforts fell short.
In a back-and-forth game at Target Center, Sparks guard Alana Beard buried a 21-foot jumper from the corner at the final buzzer to give Los Angeles a 78-76 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
Whalen finished with 18 points on eight of 14 shooting, and Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore also had 18 each. Moore, who entered the finals averaging 25.7 points in the playoffs, did not score in the first half, going 0 for 4. She was out of sorts through much of the game, missing a free throw and committing a turnover as the Lynx trailed 74-72 in the final minutes.
The Sparks held the ball until the clock reached the final few seconds, then Chelsea Gray found Beard for the winning shot.
Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 19 points each. Whalen made five of seven shots in the first half and carried the Lynx through a ragged 20 minutes. The Lynx led 36-34 at halftime, even though Moore _ who entered the finals averaging 25.7 points in the playoffs _ had yet to score.
Moore got her first basket of the game 17 seconds into the second half.
The Lynx trailed by as many as four in the third quarter before a Whalen layup and two free throws by Moore put them ahead 50-48, and they maintained the lead until a 6-0 Los Angeles run gave the Sparks a 74-71 lead.
Despite Moore's slow start, she became the all-time leading scorer in WNBA Finals history. She began the game in third place and passed Deanna Nolan and Diana Taurasi with 268 career points.
The Lynx had problems on both ends of the floor in the first half. Moore missed all four shots she took, and Augustus _ who didn't score until two minutes before halftime _ had only four points. A tight Los Angeles defense slowed the Lynx attack and swatted away numerous passes.
The Lynx committed 11 turnovers in the half, which the Sparks converted to nine points, and missed a handful of layups. On defense, the Lynx allowed Ogwumike and Parker to get free inside for easy baskets and often failed to challenge outside shooters.
The Lynx have won three of the last five WNBA titles, but is trying to win back-to-back championships for the first time in their history.
Game 2 of the series is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Target Center.
