Moore Leads Lynx Back To Win Column With 94-77 Rout Of Sparks

LOS ANGELES -- Maya Moore wasn't about to let the Minnesota Lynx lose a third straight game.

Moore scored 31 points to lead Minnesota to a 94-77 win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night. She had 16 of Minnesota's 32 points in the third quarter as the Lynx (9-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided their fourth loss in five games.

Moore shot 12-for-16 from the field in her highest-scoring game since a career-high 38-point game last month.

Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Lindsay Whalen had 12 points and seven assists for Minnesota, which equaled a season high for points and set season highs for field goals (37) and field goal percentage (64 percent).

It was an important bounce-back win for the Lynx, who began a stretch of three games in four days needing to get better defensively, particularly early, after they allowed 50 points in the first half in each of the previous two games.

Alana Beard led the Sparks (3-7) with 18 points and Candace Parker had 16 points as Los Angeles lost four straight games for the first time since 2011. Nneka Ogwumike scored 13 points with eight rebounds for the Sparks, who never got within double digits in the second half.

The Sparks have allowed 94 and 101 points the past two games, and remain in last place in the Western Conference. They held a lengthy postgame meeting.

Moore scored Minnesota's first 10 points of the second half as the Lynx outscored the Sparks 32-15 in the third quarter. She sank two 3-pointers and scored on a drive and in the paint to give the Lynx a 78-57 lead. Tricia Liston made a 3-pointer and Devereaux Peters followed with a layup to push the lead to 85-57 after the third quarter.

The Lynx led 53-42 at halftime after Moore sank a 3-pointer from the right side in the final seconds to finish with 15 points in the first half. The 53 points were the most allowed in the first half this season by the Sparks, who rallied from 18 points down to six but got no closer.

The Sparks played their third straight game without starting guard Kristi Toliver, who is training with the Slovakian national team. WNBA president Laurel Richie attended the game.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.