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Ailing Lynx win but still might be done

Hannah Foslien, AP

Candice Wiggins, left, celebrated making a free throw with Charde Houston, right, in the final minute as Seattle's Shannon Johnson looked on Saturday night at Target Center.

Minnesota still has a slim shot at making the playoffs, but now Nicky Anosike is sidelined by a knee injury.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: September 6, 2009 - 12:37 AM

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LYNX 76, SEATTLE 68

Up next: vs. Detroit • 7 p.m. Wednesday • Target Center (106.1-FM)

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Two short-handed teams met Saturday at the Target Center. And the Lynx, the team most desperate for a victory, won with a strong finish.

The Lynx, still fighting for a playoff spot, edged Seattle 76-68 before an announced crowd of 8,170. Charde Houston's short hook gave the Lynx a 70-68 lead with 1 minute, 49 seconds left and teammate Candice Wiggins scored the final six points.

It might be too late, though, for Minnesota (13-18) to make a postseason push. Before the game, Lynx all-star center Nicky Anosike was scratched because of an aching left knee. She has a partially torn meniscus and might be done for the season, which is nearly over.

The Lynx only have three regular-season games left and trail fourth-place San Antonio (14-17) by one game in the Western Conference standings and, in the playoff picture, by two games because the Silver Stars have the tiebreaker.

San Antonio beat Los Angeles 89-72 Saturday night to reduce its magic number --any combination of San Antonio wins and Lynx losses -- to two for clinching the last available playoff spot.

"This is definitely a team of the future," Lynx coach Jen Gillom said. "I see some good things happening here."

Was she already looking ahead to next season?

Anosike, interviewed at halftime, sounded a lot like her coach.

"I will be more help to the team in the future if I take care of my body," said Anosike, who averages 13.2 points and leads the team in rebounding, steals and assists. "I have a partially torn meniscus and it has been an ongoing thing all season. It has been hurting for a while."

Lately the pain has gotten worse.

Anosike declined to comment on whether she will need offseason surgery: "I am not really supposed to talk about that."

The other Lynx star who missed Saturday's game was guard Seimone Augustus, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the team's sixth game.

Seattle (19-13) played without 6-5 Lauren Jackson, out since Aug. 29 because of a stress fracture in her back, and guard Sue Bird, who woke up with a sore neck. Jackson is a past two-time league MVP. Bird, a perennial All-Star, averages a league-high 5.8 assists per game.

"We were pretty even tonight," Gillom said. "They were without their two stars, and we were without our two. It was a fair game tonight."

The Lynx held Seattle to a franchise-low five points in the first quarter to build a 13-point lead and led by as many as 16 points at 39-23 late in the first half.

But nothing has come easy for the Lynx in a 3-11 second half of the season. The Storm took its first lead of the game midway through a 30-point third quarter. But the Lynx clamped down again on defense in the fourth holding Seattle to nine points.

Houston finished with 22 points and Wiggins with 18 to lead the Lynx. They had eight and nine, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

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