As for the West semifinal series, the Lynx won in a down-to-the-wire game 67-65 in Minneapolis on Friday. But the Sparks' big second quarter was the key to Game 2 in Long Beach on Sunday, as Los Angeles prevailed 81-71.
Now it's likely going to be a case of which team's bench supports its star the best, as Minnesota's Maya Moore and Los Angeles' Candace Parker have both been strong so far. The winner of Tuesday's game faces defending champion Phoenix, which swept its series with Tulsa, in Game 1 of the West finals on Thursday (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET). Minnesota will host that game if the Lynx win, but the Mercury will host if the Sparks win.
By the way, if both New York and Minnesota are upset on Tuesday, it would be the first time ever that the conference finals wouldn't have a No. 1 seed. The league went to three rounds of playoffs in 1999 when it expanded to 12 teams.
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