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Hoffman's 24 points pace Fever in win

Aug 14, 2009 - 2:40 AM MINNEAPOLIS(AP) -- Ebony Hoffman scored a season-high 24 points as the Indiana Fever used a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Minnesota Lynx 91-81 on Thursday night.

Trailing by six early in the fourth, the Fever went on an 18-2 run in the final minutes. Indiana has the league's best record at 18-5.

"I knew that we had one more run left in us," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "We took our energy to the next level and increased the tempo, and that was the key. We created a couple steals and turned them into points."

Minnesota (11-12) fell to 2-7 in its last nine games. Candice Wiggins scored 23 points to lead the Lynx, who had 17 turnovers - 11 in the second half.

"We have got to take care of the ball down the stretch," Minnesota coach Jennifer Gillom said. "It was caused by the defense a little bit but it was also a little lack of focus. And right now we need our focus."

Indiana led by double-digits for much of the first half, paced by nine points from Hoffman. But Minnesota closed with a 12-4 run, cutting Indiana's advantage at the break to 40-38.

Hoffman, coming off an bad game in the Fever's 75-63 loss in Los Angeles on Monday, responded to a challenge from her coach.

"I was getting stale from the 3-point line and needed to get more shots up," Hoffman said.

Wiggins scored 14 first-half points.