Whalen Scores 29 As Unbeaten Lynx Beat Mercury

PHOENIX (AP) — Lindsay Whalen scored a season-high 29 points and the Minnesota Lynx remained perfect with a 78-60 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.

Seimone Augustus had 14 points and Monica Wright added 11 for the Lynx (10-0), who set the record for the longest unbeaten start in league history.

Minnesota got its club-record 10th straight road win and 13th consecutive regular-season victory dating to last year.

DeWanna Bonner scored 18 points and Candice Dupree added 11 for the Mercury (2-6), who have lost five of six games without All-Star guard Diana Taurasi — out indefinitely with a strained left hip flexor.

Phoenix had its lowest scoring total since a 77-55 loss to San Antonio on Aug. 28, 2008, the team's first game after a monthlong hiatus for the Beijing Olympics.

Whalen needed less than two minutes to score six points as the Lynx raced to an 11-4 lead.

The Mercury pulled within two at 14-12 on a 3-pointer by Alexis Gray-Lawson with 2:39 left in the first.

But Whalen scored another seven points as Minnesota outscored 16-5 over the next nearly 10 minutes to open a 30-17 lead and the Lynx never looked back.

Augustus' 3-pointer with about 5 minutes remaining gave Minnesota a 74-51 lead, its largest of the game, and Phoenix got no closer than 18 again.

Whalen finished 11 of 14 from the floor including a 3-pointer and went 6 for 7 from the free-throw line.

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