MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Monica Wright had a season-high 22 points to help the Minnesota Lynx rout the Atlanta Dream 94-72 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the top teams in the WNBA.
Lindsay Whalen added 20 points for Minnesota (9-3), which never trailed and extended its home winning streak to 15 games.
Angel McCoughtry scored 16 points to lead Atlanta (10-2), which was playing for the first time in July. The Dream had a night filled with uncharacteristic defensive lapses, losing for the first time since June 9. They entered the game as the league's top defensive team only to see Minnesota shoot better than 60 percent in the first half. Minnesota's 94 points were the most surrendered by Atlanta this season.
The Lynx played without star Seimone Augustus after she suffered a sprained left ankle in Minnesota's home win over Phoenix on Sunday.
LIBERTY 66, STORM 57
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Plenette Pierson scored nine of her 22 points in the fourth quarter as the New York Liberty recovered after giving up nearly all of a 19-point lead in the third quarter and beat the Storm 66-57 on Tuesday night.
Cappie Pondexter had 13 points for New York (6-7), which had lost three straight and five of the last six.
Tina Thompson scored 13 points and Tanisha Wright added 12 for the Storm (5-8), losers of five of their last six. Seattle lost three of four on a road swing against Eastern Conference teams.
After Toni Young's jumper in the opening possession of the third quarter extended the Liberty's lead to 38-19, the Storm went on a 20-2 run to pull within a point on Alysha Clark's layup with 2:58 remaining in the period.
Pondexter made two free throws 14 seconds later and Pierson followed with a bank shot less than 30 seconds later to push the lead back to five.