She’s not ready to relax just yet. There’s still some work to do.
Augustus scored 36 points to lead Minnesota’s second-half surge, and the Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream, 101-95, in Game 2 of the league championship series on Wednesday.
“The legacy isn’t complete until you’re holding the trophy,” Augustus said.
Jessica Adair added 13 points in 18 minutes in a reserve role for the Lynx, who took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup by overcoming 38 points by the Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, who broke her own record for a WNBA Finals game set last year. Game 3 is set for Friday night in Atlanta.
McCoughtry had 24 points in the first half, but she shot just 2-for-13 after halftime and shook her head in disgust afterward at what the Dream complained was an unfair discrepancy — 33-23, Atlanta — in the foul calls by officials Sue Blauch, Lamont Simpson and Kurt Walker.
With veteran center Taj McWilliams-Franklin on the bench with a sprained right knee suffered late in the third quarter, WNBA rookie of the year Maya Moore sitting for most of the game in foul trouble and fellow All-Star Rebekkah Brunson having a quiet game, Augustus took over.
She finished 11-for-14 from the floor and 13-for-16 at the free-throw line.
WNBA FINALS
Game 1: Minnesota 88, Atlanta 74
Game 2: Minnesota 101, Atlanta 95 (Lynx lead, 2-0)
Game 3: Minnesota at Atlanta, 5 p.m. Friday, ESPN2
Game 4*: Minnesota at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2
Game 5*: Atlanta at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2
* if necessary
