MINNEAPOLIS -- Sylvia Fowles admitted she was almost too hyped up at times Tuesday. She wanted a victory in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals badly, and knew it would take the kind of defensive effort her Minnesota Lynx are known for -- but didnt quite get enough of in their loss in the opener.Knowing this was a must-win night, I just let it all out on the floor, said Fowles after Minnesotas 79-60 victory over Los Angeles at Target Center. And my teammates respond well when I show that leadership.At one point, though, she was so intense that Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was about to sub her out.I had to look at her with the evil eye across the court, like, Im all right! Fowles said, smiling. And she was like, OK, shes all right.Fowles was more than all right, actually. The WNBAs Defensive Player of the Year was the dominant force that the Lynx needed, reminding everyone yet again how critical it was that Minnesota made the trade last year to bring her here.Fowles had 13 points and 15 rebounds, leading the Lynxs dominance on the boards, 46-32. The Lynx have won the rebounding battle four of the five times the teams have met this season. But twice, its been by double digits -- in their first meeting on June 21 and Tuesday.This was Minnesotas third win this season against Los Angeles, but the score was close in the previous two. Tuesday, it was the second and fourth quarters that really made the difference, as the Lynx outscored the Sparks 46-25 in those periods. This one tied for the lowest point total the Sparks have had this season; they lost 78-60 at Seattle on Sept. 11.Defensively, we were way better today, Reeve said. I just thought our commitment to our concepts was better. I dont know that we could have been worse than what we did last game as far as the types of easy baskets we gave up, so obviously we cleaned some things up. I was happy about that.Los Angeles Nneka Ogwumike, the leagues MVP this season, was efficient as usual. She just didnt get many shots, going 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line for a team-high 14 points. Sparks center Candace Parker was 3 of 12 from the field and held to six points.I think we limited them from what they do well, Fowles said. Our defense gets us going, and once that happens, our offense flows more smoothly.Fowles was primarily responsible for guarding Ogwumike, and Rebekkah Brunson was on Parker. Post players Natasha Howard and Janel McCarville didnt play a lot of minutes, but both came in and were effective as well.The posts are the backbone of our team and our defense, Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen said. Theyre so strong; theyre all fighters and are relentless. They showed it tonight with their play on both ends, but defensively they were really impressive.In Sundays opener, a 78-76 L.A. victory, the Lynx put a lot of pressure on the Sparks, but they also surrendered some backdoor cuts for some of those easy baskets that so irritated Reeve.Today, they were a little less aggressive in that aspect, and that worked for them, Sparks guard Kristi Toliver said of the Lynxs defensive approach. And we missed a lot of shots. But I think the main thing that triggered their defensive effectiveness is that we werent getting the stops that we wanted. We werent getting the rebounds, and we werent able to run.When we did, thats when we were able to make that surge and get the game back to within three points in the third quarter.But there was something else that was obvious, and both Toliver and Sparks coach Brian Agler pointed it out.They really wanted to win. You could tell, and youve got to give them a lot of credit, Toliver said. We just kind of didnt do the things we wanted to do or should do. Well be able to go back and watch the film. We need to keep our composure and remain confident.Agler thought the want to factor that the Lynx had eventually overwhelmed the Sparks. Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Minnesota, and the team defense was the rock that the Lynx have so often relied on.We played like this game was more important to them than it was to us, and thats unfortunate, Agler said. You dont get these opportunities often. I was impressed with how they played tonight, and so well go back and regroup.The Lynx know its probably unlikely theyll hold the Sparks to 60 points again. But they also can be confident that when they play defensively like they have most of this season, thats difficult for any team to beat.Oh, yeah, and about Fowles evil eye -- it wasnt really that evil. Theres not a nicer person off court than Big Syl, but she did get her dander up a few times Tuesday, and Reeve was a little bit worried about that. But it all turned out OK.Im proud of Syl, Reeve said. She didnt always keep her cool, but ... she hung in there through what I thought was a really, really physical game for her. I told her thats what its all about.Game 3 is Friday in L.A. at 9 p.m. ET. Paul ONeill Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Dellin Betances Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. http://www.cheapyankeesjerseyschina.com/randy-johnson-jersey/ . 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LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. NEW YORK -- NBC reached 24.1 million viewers on Tuesday for a telecast that featured Simone Biles and Aly Raisman taking the top two medals for the gymnastics floor exercise.The prime-time viewership increases by 6 percent to 25.6 million when cable and streaming is added in. Consistent with every other night of the Olympics, that lags behind the London Games of 2012, which had 30.1 million viewers in prime-time for the corresponding night.NBC should expect the numbers to shrink from this point. Competition is over for swimming and gymnastics, two of its most high-profile sports, and the loss by Kerri Walsh Jennings and partner April Ross in beach volleyball late Tuesday eliminates the gold medal chances for one of NBCs favorite athletes.SAFE IN BROADCAST BOOTH: Play briefly stopped in Wednesdays handball match between Brazil and France, with Brazils goalie woozy from being smacked in the head by a shot. The goalies wear no protection as the ball comes whizzing by, or at, them. Hes just dinged a little bit, said NBC analyst Dawn Lewis. Hell have to gain his composure again. Replied her partner, Chris Carrino, thats easy for you to say!QUOTE: The samba party is on in Rio de Janeiro.dddddddddddd -NBC soccer announcer Steve Cangialosi as a goal gives Brazil a 3-0 lead in its mens soccer match against Honduras that it won 6-0. Brazil will now play for gold.YOUR DEVICE MATTERS: NBCOlympics.com is the place to go for DVR-like controls such as forwarding, rewinding and a 15-second instant replay button. On the NBC Sports app on phones and tablets, youre limited to a pause button for live events, with no ability to start from the beginning or create your own instant replay. For pre-taped events, you get a slider that isnt easy to control. Also, live isnt really live: because of the constraints of streaming, it takes time for video to turn into data and travel to your phone or computer -- about a minute behind one recent night. For Usain Bolts 200-meter run, the race was over on television by the time the stream started.---AP Technology Writer Anick Jesdanun in New York contributed to this report.---Follow David Bauder at twitter.com/dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store ' ' '