Seimone Augustus of the Lynx and Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream put on a display of shooting and maneuvering in the first half Wednesday night that provided a fabulous advertisement for this top level of women's basketball.
McCoughtry was 8-for-9 from the field and scored 24 points. Augustus was 8-for-10 and scored 19. The Dream held a 58-50 lead, shooting 59.5 percent to 51.5 percent for the Lynx.
And then came the second half, when Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker and Lamont Simpson put on a display of officiating that made witnesses question whether they would ever want to see another basketball game -- women's, men's or Globetrotter.
The trio called 35 fouls in the second half for a total of 56. The teams shot 50 free throws in the second half for a total of 78.
In the end, the Lynx dominated the fourth quarter for the second time in this series to take a 2-0 lead. The final was 101-95, and the Lynx now have three chances for another victory and their first title after a previously dreary 12-year existence in Minnesota.
The Lynx made the playoffs only once in those dozen years, and won a single playoff game. They were rewarded for their ineptitude with the chance to take Augustus first overall in 2006, and they had that going for them again this April in taking Maya Moore.
The presence of a fully healthy Augustus and the ultra-talented Moore lifted the Lynx from bottom feeding to the WNBA's best record at 27-7 -- and now they are 6-1 in the playoffs, with a five-game winning streak.
McCoughtry is a magnificent offensive player for the Dream, but Augustus matched her Wednesday, and eventually the Lynx (and the whistles) were too much for the visitors.