The Mercury just couldn’t muster up enough of a spark to get the job done tonight.

Throughout the entire game, the Mercury seemingly found their groove and got within closing distance but never could get over that hump in a 99-86 loss.

Sometimes, recaps are overrated. This is one of those cases. There isn’t a whole lot of statistical analysis that I could offer up that would be different than what anyone else would write. Quite simply, the Lynx made shots and the Mercury didn’t. The Lynx came out with more energy and sustained it throughout the game, while the Mercury ran out of energy. The Lynx came up with the big plays when they needed them and Phoenix wasn’t able to close the gap.

“We missed layups, were out of sync,” Gaines said. “They made shots, we missed ours. I have to hand it to them, they’re a good team.”

When asked to clarify, Gaines said he couldn’t be much more clear. “They made shots, they beat us,” Gaines said. “It just didn’t happen tonight.”

Cappie echoed Gaines’ sentiment that sometimes you’re just off and you’re going to lose some. “Any loss is tough and I don’t want to make excuses,” Cappie said. “I really think it was the lack of energy in the 1st half; the lack of effort and defensive energy.”

Like their last loss in Minnesota, you just have to put it behind you. “Lesson learned and we’ll move on. We’ll regroup coming into this break,” Cappie said. “We’re a great team and we just have to focus to stay on top in the West.”

Again, sorry for the lack of analysis, but this really isn’t a complicated game to figure out sometimes. The Lynx just played better than the Mercury did tonight.

On to a much needed All-Star break…

July 22nd, 2009 10:39 PM