Brunson shows her tough side in Lynx win over L.A.

Rebekkah Brunson is often called a beast by teammates and the opposition.

L.A. Sparks coach Joe Bryant described the 6-2 forward that way Tuesday after his team lost to the Lynx at Target Center. Brunson had six rebounds -- four under her average -- but five were on the offensive boards.

Brunson, known for her physical, aggressive play, got angry twice and received two technicals, one at 2 minutes, 44 seconds of the second period, the other at 5:13 of the fourth. The second technical meant an automatic ejection even though she had only one foul otherwise.

After the game, Brunson was still feisty. She tweeted: "My Oma taught me to stand up for myself if i feel wronged, so if u think imma shut up because it's annoying u, guess again"

Before that, she tweeted, "Wonder why my back is sore. Hmm."

Brunson, who was unavailable for interviews Tuesday, did not come to the optional team practice on Wednesday.

TRUSTING TEAM

The Sparks, down by as much as 16 points in the first half, pulled within four points only three minutes into the third quarter.

"I do not necessarily know if there was calm in our huddle," Reeve said, "There was some frustration we had to work through but the big thing, the big word we used was trust. We needed to trust what we were doing, trust the way we were playing things and needed that from all five players."

The Lynx used a 13-0 run to take control again at 61-44. The 12th and 13th points put an exclamation point on the run. Rebekkah Brunson outmuscled everyone for a rebound inside in traffic, then gave a soft, short pass to Seimone Augustus for a layup. Brunson's assist was one of 23 for the Lynx. L.A. only had 10 assists.

""That is what we talked about, sharing the ball every time," Reeve said. "Whether it is practice or pre-game stuff, we talk about sharing the ball inside-out, keep it moving.

"This group is great in they do no care who scores. They want to get open and understand who is going to get what shots and when. But the sharing of the ball is something I am very proud of."

Seimone Augustus, one of four Lynx in last weekend's All-Star Game, was glad to be back with her team.

"Everyone was excited to get back and see one another after having these three, four days off," said Augustus, who scored a team-high 22 points. "We just clicked immediately and had fun [Tuesday] more than anything juast enjoying being back on the court with our teammates."

"We hadn't played together since last Wednesday," said Lindsay Whalen, another all-star. "This was the third or fourth time this year that we have had a long stretch without any games and then to not actually have that much practice, maybe a little. We played well together and now we can kind of get back into our normal routine. That is a big thing as well, we're big routine people."

TURNSTILE WATCHING

The Lynx are averaging 8,538 fans per game through eight home dates. They have drawn 68,311 fans with nine regular-season games left at Target Center.

The Lynx in road attendance are third in the WNBA, behind only Atlanta and Tulsa, averaging 8,385 for seven games.