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By BRETT HUSTON, STATS Writer

The Houston Comets already contributed to the longest losing streak of the season for the Minnesota Lynx. If the Lynx can't figure out a way to beat Houston soon, they may be headed toward a similar streak.

Minnesota looks to avoid its third straight loss and fifth in seven games on Saturday when it hosts Houston in the opener of a home-and-home series.

The Lynx (9-10) got off to an outstanding start this season, winning five straight, but little has gone right since then. They suffered through a five-game skid from June 10-21, a slide that included a 72-65 loss to Houston.

Though Minnesota won three of its next five, it's coming into its third meeting with the Comets (9-11) off a pair of bad losses. The Lynx lost 96-71 at Seattle on Saturday - their largest margin of defeat since a 31-point loss on Aug. 8, 2006 - then came home on Wednesday and lost 73-67 to Atlanta, which was 1-17.

Coach Don Zierden's team makes 75.5 percent of its free throws, but missed nine of its final 16 attempts to blow a 12-point halftime lead in the loss to the Dream.

"You have to knock them down in crunch time, and unfortunately tonight we didn't," said Zierden, who estimated the Lynx missed at least six layups.

Minnesota is the third-highest scoring team in the league, averaging 79.9 points, but it's averaged nearly 11 fewer in its latest two losses.

The Lynx are led by Seimone Augustus (18.8 points per game) and rookie Candice Wiggins (16.7 ppg), but no one else averages in double figures. Augustus has failed to hit her average in three of her last four games, and Wiggins averaged just 12.5 points in her last two after scoring 18.6 points per game in June.

Both the Lynx and the Comets will be looking to avoid losing their third straight as they play the first game of a home-and-home set that concludes Thursday in Houston.

The Comets have dropped their last two after winning six of seven to climb back into the Western Conference playoff race. They led Phoenix by eight at halftime but lost 99-94 on Tuesday, then led by the same margin at Los Angeles the next day before falling 82-74 in overtime.

Tina Thompson leads the Comets at 17.9 points per game, and recently she's been getting some offensive help from Sancho Lyttle. The fourth-year forward, who attended the University of Houston, is averaging 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds over her last four games.

The teams have split two meetings this season, with each winning on the road. Augustus scored 25 in Minnesota's 98-92 win at Houston on May 27.

The Comets have won four their last visits to the Target Center.

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