In five previous losses this season, the Lynx had lost to Los Angeles by eight points, Seattle by 10, Indiana by 3 and to Phoenix twice by 7 and 5.

Add that up, that's 33 points. Connecticut almost beat the Lynx by that many on Tuesday. The Sun routed the Lynx 108-79 -- a 29-point margin.

The Lynx still have the best record in the WNBA at 18-6, but look a little more vulnerable.

For the third game in a row, the Lynx got 30 or more points from their bench, this game 30 on the nose. The Sun had 46 points from reserves and outscored Minnesota by 10 points at the line.

Connecticut, the more aggressive team, was 23 of 32 on free throws, the Lynx 13 of 21.

The Sun made only eight turnovers, the Lynx 11. Connecticut shot better on threes, 9 for 19 to the Lynx 4 for 18. No Lynx player made more than one shot behind the arc.

Overall, the Sun shot 52.8 percent from the field, the Lynx 42.5 percent.

Point guard Lindsay Whalen kept the Lynx somewhat close in the first half with 16 of her 20 points. But the Sun had too many players scoring. The 108 points Connecticut scored was the second highest total by an opponent this season.

Phoenix beat the Lynx 112-105 on July 13 in the highest scoring WNBA game ever without overtime.

The Sun grabbed a 17-7 lead in the first quarter and it grew to 27-10. The Lynx got as close as six points in the second quarter on Monica Wright's rebound basket. But the Sun scored the next six points. End of rally.

* Rookie Maya Moore, who many in the sellout crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena came to see, struggled more than most of her teammates. She was 1 of 7 from the field for two points.

* The most points the Lynx had trailed by this season was 14 against Seattle on June 24. But against the Sun they were down by as much as 32 points. It was a payback game for the Sun, who lost by 23 points (90-67) to the Lynx on July 9 at Target Center.

BATTLE TIGHTENS FOR BEST RECORD

The Lynx, with the loss to Connecticut, now have only a one-half game lead over Indiana for the best record in the WNBA.

The Fever, in first in the Eastern Conference, edged San Antonio 65-63 on the road as Tamika Catchings scored 26 points.

The Lynx are now 18-6, Indiana 18-7. And Connecticut, second in the East, improves to 16-8, two behind the Lynx.