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The Minnesota Lynx scored 37 straight points in a WNBA game, which is a lot, and a record

Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles (C) works through two Indiana Fever defenders during an Aug. 18, 2017, WNBA game. (AP)
Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles (C) works through two Indiana Fever defenders during an Aug. 18, 2017, WNBA game. (AP)

The Minnesota Lynx lead the WNBA’s Western Conference, with a winning percentage hovering around .800. The Indiana Fever reside at the bottom of the East, having lost more than two-thirds of their games this season. Given the difference in quality between the two respective teams, you might have expected their Friday night matchup to be a little bit one-sided; you might not, however, have expected the Lynx to go on a run so dominant that it helped rewrite the WNBA’s record books.

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With just under five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Fever guard Jazmon Gwathmey hit a pair of free throws to cut Minnesota’s lead to 22-9. Indiana would not score for more than 11 minutes of game-time — more than an entire WNBA quarter.

The Lynx, on the other hand? They’d score. A lot.

Between the 4:55 mark of the first quarter and the 3:45 mark of the second, the Lynx scored 37 consecutive points without a single Fever shot finding nylon. A 37-0 run, turning a 22-9 edge into the most lopsided blowout the league has ever seen.

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Minnesota made 15 of 21 shots during the historically dominant stretch, with All-Star center Sylvia Fowles scoring 10 of her game-high 25 points along the way. The Lynx were opportunistic on defense, snagging five steals and forcing 10 Indiana turnovers that they turned into 12 points to pad the lead, overwhelming the visiting Fever to set the stage for a 111-52 win that — as you might expect — set a new WNBA record for most consecutive points by one team in a game before Natalie Achonwa hit a jumper to snap the streak with 3:45 to go in the first half.

Remarkably enough, the Lynx actually built their advantage later on, pouring it on after intermission and leading by as many as 63 late in the fourth quarter before the final margin settled at 59 — the largest margin of victory in league history, topping a 46-point victory by the Seattle Storm over the Tulsa Shock in 2010.

The Lynx entered Friday’s game coming off consecutive losses, having scored 64 and 61 points in the two defeats. Scoring 68 in the first half alone was one hell of a way to get off the schneid.

“We were ready to respond,” Lynx forward Maya Moore told Rachel Blount of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

That, friends, seems like the understatement of the century.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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