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Janell Burse and 
Lauren Jackson Tuesday in Minnesota, the Seattle Storm also turned out to be missing something even more important: defense. The Lynx set an opponent franchise scoring record by running up 37 points in the third quarter and scored a season-high 95 points on 47.2% shooting, blowing by the Storm 95-74.
"Definitely, we need to play better defense than to give up 95 points, there's no question," said Storm Head Coach 
Anne Donovan. "That's not just about Lauren and JB."
With MVP candidate Jackson at home in Australia with her ill grandmother and Burse back in Seattle because of her injured left wrist, the Storm was blitzed early by Minnesota. The Storm scored the game's first four points, then watched as the Lynx followed with a 13-0 run. Minnesota went ahead by eight after one quarter and the Storm got no closer the rest of the way. A 20-4 Lynx run in the third quarter turned the game into a rout.
Forward Svetlana Abrosimova led the Minnesota onslaught in the period, scoring 16 of her 20 points. The Lynx shot 12-of-18 (66.7%) in the third quarter, handing out 11 assists and making all 10 of their free-throw attempts without a turnover in the 10-minute span.
"Abrosimova in particular really had her way with us in that stretch," said Donovan. "37 points in the quarter is not playing very smart defense."
Minus Jackson, the league's leading scorer, the Storm had little hope of matching Minnesota shot for shot. The team's offense picked up after a frigid start that saw Seattle hit just 22.2% from the field (4-18) in the first quarter, but the Storm finished the night at 38.0% shooting against a Lynx team that is last in the league in defensive field-goal percentage.
On the other side, the Lynx were sharing the ball with ruthless efficiency, racking up 29 assists on 34 field goals. Rookie Noelle Quinn (eight) and Abrosimova (seven) led the assist attack, while multiple Minnesota players were on the receiving end. Guard Seimone Augustus, second only to Jackson in scoring average, scored 21 points. Nicole Ohlde added 16 and a pair of reserves (Kristen Mann, with 12, and Shay Murphy, with 11) reached double-figures. Neither Quinn nor Abrosimova turned the ball over, and Minnesota had just six turnovers as a team.
"Obviously it was fun," said Ohlde. "As you could tell, it was fun for everyone out there. Everybody got the flair and got their shots. It was a good one for us."
The road gets no easier for the Storm. The team finishes its away schedule Thursday against the WNBA's best team, the 22-6 Detroit Shock. The Storm will be without both Burse and Jackson for that game as well.
"Detroit is a very good team and if we play defense against them the way we did tonight, they'll score 180," Storm guard 
Sue Bird said. "We just have to get back to basics a bit. It's tough to lose two of your starters in the post, there is no doubt about that. But we can't talk about that because we're not going to have one of them [Burse] for the rest of the season, so we just have to figure out a way to do it."
The Storm can build off some solid individual performances.
"Doneeka (Lewis) did a great job off of the bench. I thought KG (
Katie Gearlds) was aggressive again, which is what we need from her," Donovan said. "I thought 
Betty (Lennox) did a good job fighting all of the way through. So there are definitely positives to take away."
Lennox finished with team highs of 18 points and seven rebounds. Lewis, in her first extended action since joining the Storm, scored eight points in 12 minutes of action. While Gearlds' shot wasn't falling, the rookie wing was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to score seven points and added four rebounds.
There was also good news for the Storm elsewhere in the WNBA. Both Houston and Los Angeles lost Tuesday night, bringing the Storm's magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one. The Storm will lock up a fourth straight trip to the WNBA postseason with a win or losses by both the Comets and Sparks.
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