Mystics 89, Lynx 86: A Painful Loss

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty ImagesUncharacteristically poor defense most of the night made the Lynx’ game against the Washington Mystics an uphill climb, one they ultimately could not overcome despite several opportunities. The result was a disappointing 89-86 loss that moves the Lynx to 13-7 on the season and fighting to hang on to the 4th seed and a first round bye in the WNBA playoffs. Any thoughts of moving up were pretty much crushed by this loss.

After their loss to the Seattle Storm on Sunday, I expected the Lynx to come out with purpose tonight, but the opposite happened. The Mystics punched first, led by Myisha Hines-Allen, for whom the Lynx had no answer, especially in…