MINNEAPOLIS – Seimone Augustus scored 15 of her 25 points in the second half and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream 96-85 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory after a season-opening loss.
Rebekkah Brunson had 18 points and 14 rebounds for her fifth straight double-double, one short of the WNBA record to start a season. Lindsay Whalen added 16 points and eight assists, and Maya Moore had 13 points.
Angel McCoughtry led Atlanta (1-4) with 27 points. Erika de Souza added 18, Iziane Castro Marques 12 and Shalee Lehning 11.
Minnesota took control with a 13-0 run early in the third quarter, keyed by five points by Whalen. She converted a fast-break layup over 6-foot-7 Alison Bales into a three-point play and hit a mid-range jumper.
Brunson capped the run with a coast-to-coast drive for a layup that forced an Atlanta timeout and gave Minnesota a 54-43 lead.
Whalen kept up the pressure, making a pair of jumpers and hitting Moore for a transition layup that gave Minnesota its biggest lead, 78-64. The Dream twice cut it to six, failed to pull closer.
Augustus, who left the game briefly because of a hip contusion, was 9 of 14 from the field and made all seven of her free throws. The Lynx shot 52.2 percent from the floor.
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