Lynx on verge of historic finish with WNBA title one win away

Mention the Houston Comets to Maya Moore, and the Lynx forward instantly breaks into a wide smile. "They were my favorite team,'' Moore said Wednesday, after the Lynx's final practice of the season. "Those were the players I looked up to.''

Moore emulated the women who crafted the WNBA's first dynasty as a youth, wearing the same shoes Sheryl Swoopes wore and choosing uniform number 14 in honor of Cynthia Cooper. Though she's all grown up, Moore — and her Lynx teammates — still aspire to be just like those early idols of the women's game. Thursday, with a victory over Los Angeles, they can join the Comets in history as the only teams to win four WNBA championships.

Game 5 of the WNBA Finals will end a series that has been emotional and exhausting for both the Lynx and Sparks. The league's new playoff format was set up to give its top two regular-season teams a path to the Finals, and the parity between the teams has pushed the series to the limit.

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