Lynx falter against shorthanded Storm

Seattle forward Lauren Jackson, last season's WNBA MVP, missed Tuesday's afternoon game at Target Center. She left the Storm recently to join Australia's national team as it prepares for the Olympics.

Seimone Augustus, who will represent the Lynx on the U.S. team at the Olympics, was at Target Center but probably wishes she had been elsewhere.

Augustus was 0-for-7 from the floor in the first half and 3-for-16 for the game. When she struggles, the Lynx usually lose.

This time Seattle, without Jackson and starting center Yolanda Griffith (migrane) in the lineup, edged Minnesota 76-73 in front of an announced crowd of 12,276. Few of the fans were eligible to vote; it was Kids' Day.

One small boy, sitting near the court, started yelling "don't shoot anymore" whenever Augustus would miss.

On Saturday, the third-year guard made 11 consecutive shots in one stretch and scored a season-high 30 points in a huge victory at San Antonio.

On Tuesday, Augustus, averaging 19.7 points, tied a season low with 10 points.

"I felt great," she said, referring to Tuesday's pregame warmups. "It was the same energy and intensity."

Lynx center Vanessa Hayden-Johnson and rookie Candice Wiggins also had trouble scoring. Both missed key shots late in the fourth quarter.

Hayden-Johnson (2-for-9) misfired on a jumper from the lane with 10 seconds left after the Lynx (11-12) had used a 13-2 run to close within 74-73.

After two Storm free throws widened the lead to three, Wiggins missed a tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

"It almost went in, I thought it was going in," Wiggins said.

"[The Storm] play really well defensively," Lynx coach Don Zierden said. "This 35 percent [shooting] by us, that's happening [to their opponents] on a daily basis."

Guard Sue Bird, who will join Augustus on the U.S. Olympic team, had 22 points for Seattle (16-8). Swin Cash and Camille Little had 17 apiece and Tanisha Wright 12. Sheryl Swoopes, the fifth starter, had two points but sat out the second half because of a pulled hamstring.

"[This] was one of the best wins in our franchise history," Bird said. "To be out three starters, come in after losing by 30 in our last game, and to go on the road to beat a very good Minnesota, I speak for everybody when I say, 'We have never been happier.' "