Lynx win lucky number 7 as they move onto All-Star break.

Things sure are coming up roses right now for the Lynx. With the help of Lindsay Whalen, they now have their seventh straight. Whalen had 18 points and seven assists and that was a major help in defeating the Phoenix Mercury 81-69. The Lynx have beaten Phoenix 10 straight times, including all five games this season.

Seimone Augustus added 16 and Monica Wright 14 for the Lynx, while Candice Dupree scored 17 points for Phoenix (9-9), who played without an injured Brittney Griner and suspended Diana Taurasi. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points. Leading by five at the half, Augustus and Whalen had six points each during a 14-4 run to open the third quarter and push the lead to 53-38 in front of a franchise-record of 16,404 fans.

At 14-3, Minnesota has reached the season’s halfway point with the league’s best record. It has four players — Augustus, Moore, Whalen and Brunson — and its coaching staff heading to Saturday’s All-Star Game airing on ABC.

“I really like how we’ve improved as a team at the rate we’ve improved at,” said Coach Cheryl Reeve. “I think with this team the light bulb has really gone on for us about the physical toughness, the mental toughness, the defensive toughness, things that we know in order for us to accomplish our goals we have to get done.”

“The consistency that this team plays with is something that I think people take for granted. You just expect it from these players…. For me one of the best things you can say about a team is you’re consistent. We’ve done that and I think we’ve reached a pretty high level of play, but we still have more to do. From the start of the season until now we’ve become a very good basketball team.”