Sylvia Fowles fuels Minnesota in Game 2 victory in WNBA Finals

— -- MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota center Sylvia Fowles received some presents in the mail the day before her 30th birthday on Tuesday. But she didn't open them early. She waited until Tuesday afternoon when she was relaxing before Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

"I got some flowers from my family," Fowles said. "My little nieces sent me teddy bears because I love those. My sister sent me jewelry, and my mom got me a new phone."

But what Fowles wanted most on Tuesday, of course, was to even this series at one game apiece after a loss to Indiana on Sunday. And from the tip-off at Target Center, she looked determined to make that happen.

"I just tried to lock in this game and from the start do what I was capable of," Fowles said after the Lynx won 77-71 in what you could call a testy contest with the Fever.

Fowles had 21 points, on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, and nine rebounds. She scored the first four points of the game and had 14 in the first half. Especially considering that Maya Moore had just five points for the Lynx in the opening 20 minutes, Fowles' hot start was all the more crucial for Minnesota.

"She was big for us in Game 1, but I think she was disappointed in the turnovers and getting the ball knocked out of her hands a little bit," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Fowles' 21-point, 11-rebound effort in Sunday's loss. "She wanted to do better in those areas. She was impressive. Sylvia is the difference for us in terms of being able to put pressure on the inside."

Fowles' output thus far in the WNBA Finals was why the Lynx were so keen on getting her and why general manager Roger Griffith kept working well into the season to do it. The trade for Fowles was complicated and took until late July to complete, involving a third team in Atlanta to induce Chicago to participate. Fowles, who had played her entire WNBA career with the Sky after getting drafted No. 2 overall in 2008, was prepared to sit out all of 2015 to force the issue.

She wanted to be in Minnesota. She and the Lynx were excited when it finally happened, but it still took some time to integrate her into the Minnesota system.

"It's just getting that chemistry down and that togetherness," Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen said. "Getting used to how we get through pick-and-rolls, how we pass her the ball. But she's come in with an unbelievable attitude every game and every practice."

Indeed, it's Fowles' personality that has impressed Reeve as much as her talent. Fowles is a 6-foot-6 veteran who has won Olympic gold and played around the world. Some players with that much experience would not take well to a lot of new instruction. But that is exactly what Fowles hungered for.

"I always heard that Sylvia was sweet," Reeve said. "But I didn't really understand her personality, and what a joy it was every time you see her. And her excitement to see you. I don't necessarily get that all the time from my players."

Reeve laughed as she said that, but you could tell it has truly been a refreshing experience for her and assistant Jim Petersen to work with Fowles. Petersen is a big man himself, a post player who competed at the NBA level, and has relished mentoring Fowles.

"He's got a thirst to try to find ways to help make her better because every time he gives her something, she embraces it," Reeve said. "So it's keeping him at a high level. Jim will call her over, and she goes sprinting up to him. I think it's just who she is. That's really been fun to have around."

Lynx guard Seimone Augustus, who had 11 points on Tuesday, played at LSU with Fowles and knows her as well as anyone. Augustus said Fowles' fire from the start of Game 2 was crucial.

"That's what we needed," Augustus said. "We knew they were trying to collapse in the paint, but they really went in there and tried to take the ball out of Syl's hands. And then it kind of opened it up for me on the outside, and Whalen was able to do her thing. It jump-started the game for us."

It also allowed the Lynx to get through a kind of overzealous stretch for Moore where she seemed to be forcing things too much.

"She was just awful early," Reeve said of Moore's shot selection. "It was a case where I think our team was so amped up to play, [and] Maya being probably the one that was the most amped up. She just had to settle down."

Once Moore did that, she was a huge factor in the victory, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Fever coach Stephanie White, who was not-too-thrilled with the officiating Tuesday, did give a lot of credit to Moore and Fowles, along with the perimeter defense of Lynx reserve guards Anna Cruz and Renee Montgomery.

Of Fowles in particular, White said, "I think she's been playing inspired this series, and she's been a big part of what they're doing now."

Fowles joked Tuesday morning at shootaround that she had been looking forward to her 30th birthday. She said her mom had always told her that once she turned 30, she would have to re-evaluate whether she was still her little baby.

"Well, she told me today, that yeah, I'm officially still her baby and always will be," Fowles said after the game. "Even when I turn 70."

Understandably so, but to every team that has to try to stop Fowles, she has grown up.

"She was great all night," Whalen said. "She started out catching the ball with a lot of poise, and had three people on her at times, but composed herself and was able to put it up. She was huge for us the whole game."