ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Its a Minnesota father-daughter tradition. Every March, if Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen is home instead of playing overseas, she and her dad, Neil, take in an early day of the state high school hockey tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.A scheduling conflict at the Target Center forced the Lynx to shift the first two games of their WNBA semifinal series with Phoenix to Xcel, the NHL arena 10 miles east of Minneapolis, across the Mississippi River. So when Whalen took the court for Game 1 on Wednesday night, with Minnesota facing archrival Phoenix in this round for the fourth consecutive season, the surroundings were more familiar to her than her teammates.It helped that the Lynx shipped their home court from Target Center rather than using Xcels. Whalen and Maya Moore quickly made themselves comfortable, standing out in a game featuring 11 Olympians from Rio and virtually no defense.Moore scored 13 of her 31 points in the runaway second quarter, and Whalen had 19 points and seven assists as the top-seeded Lynx won easily, 113-95, setting a WNBA record for points in regulation playoff game. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Friday (ESPNews, 8 p.m. ET).They pretty much dominated every facet of the game, said Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi, one of the Mercurys six Olympians. There are a lot of things we have to prioritize, and we didnt do any of them today. We didnt limit anyone. They got what they wanted, when they wanted. Thats just a lack of team defense, which the last couple of weeks weve been pretty good at.Six Lynx players scored in double figures, including reserves Renee Montgomery (11 points) and Natasha Howard (10), as Minnesota shot 63.9 percent from the field. Center Sylvia Fowles had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Taurasi finished with 25 points and Brittney Griner had 16 for Phoenix, which lost despite shooting 53.5 percent from the field. Minnesota owned a 38-20 rebounding edge, limiting the 6-foot-8 Griner to two rebounds, none offensive.Things were so out of hand by the end of third quarter that Mercury coach Sandy Brondello gave Taurasi, Griner, Penny Taylor and Candice Dupree the rest of the night off. Down by 20, theres no use trying to beat a dead horse, Brondello said.The teams hadnt met since June 7, playing their three-game series in the regular seasons first three weeks (the Lynx swept). The eighth-seeded Mercury won back-to-back single-elimination games in the WNBAs new playoff format to reach the semis. But they were no match for the Lynx, rested and fresh after 10 days off and aiming to become the first WNBA team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to repeat.Whalen, one of Minnesotas four U.S. Olympians (plus Anna Cruz of Spain), delivered the signature moment in a 14-0 second-quarter run that put the Lynx up 39-25. She finished a fast break with a behind-the-back dribble in the lane and a hesitation layup, wowing the boisterous crowd of 9,013. She waited for a late-arriving Taurasi -- an Olympic teammate in Rio last month -- to sail past before banking it in.Phoenix never came closer than 12 points the rest of the way, and trailed by 25 in the third quarter.I was just trying to push the tempo, Whalen said. Coach [Cheryl Reeve] worked me a lot this year on getting in there, making a move, changing directions. I was able to get it done that time.I almost lost it. Another inch one way and it would have been a turnover and they would have been running the other way. I was a little bit good and a little bit lucky on that play.Said Taurasi: I want to act surprised and I want to act like, How did she do that? But Im not. Ive played with her and against her for so long. She has the ability to do things that no one else in the world can do, especially when shes engaged like that.Shes one of the best players in the world. Sometimes, theyre better than you. Today she made a lot of those plays where she was just better than us.Lynx players wore purple sneakers to honor the memory of Prince, their highest-profile fan who hosted an impromptu victory party at Paisley Park last season after the Lynx won their third WNBA championship in five years. Designated fashionista Seimone Augustus generally picks the color for the Lynx playoff sneakers, but players said this was a team-wide call.Minnesotas home away from homeRelocating playoff games because of building conflicts is an unfortunate fact of life in the WNBA, something the Lynx managed to avoid until this season.Several months ago, Target Center officials pushed back a five-day appearance by Cirque du Soliel, originally slated for the Olympic break, to install a new scoreboard as part of the buildings $130 million renovation. Rescheduling Cirque to Sept. 28-Oct. 2 forced the Lynx to find another venue for Games 1 and 2, abandoning an arena where the Lynx posted the leagues best home record since 2014 (43-8).The Lynx already contracted to play next summer at Xcel, the home of the NHLs Minnesota Wild, during the final stage of renovations. Xcel officials agreed to host these playoff games as well, with the Wild shifting three days of training camp to another location.Xcel general manager Jack Larson said the building hadnt hosted a basketball game since the 2001 state high school boys tournament. So most Xcel workers had no practice experience assembling a basketball floor.The Lynx shipped their court across town on three semi tractor-trailers. Target Center operations director Tom Renner supervised a crew of 20 that put it together in time for the Lynx to practice last Monday. They broke it down for a Wild preseason game Tuesday night, then restored it for Wednesdays shootaround.We could take a second and bemoan it, but it really doesnt do us any good, Reeve said. The mindset is, we are very fortunate we have a beautiful facility in St. Paul. And we said we dont care where the game is played. Its about us being together, and our fans. If were all there, thats our home court.The Lynx, and Whalen, certainly made it feel like home Wednesday night. Omar Vizquel Jersey Large . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Eddie Robinson Jersey Large . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. http://www.customindiansjersey.com/custom-satchel-paige-jersey-large-273b.html . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Cheap Custom Indians Jersey . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Custom Bob Feller Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings returned, literally, to their winning way.Xavier Rhodes took back one of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown and Cordarrelle Patterson returned the second-half kickoff 104 yards for a score in Minnesotas 30-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, helping the Vikings stop their four-game losing streak.Its been a long, long, long month, but its good to feel this again, said coach Mike Zimmer, who urged his team multiple times this week to stop chasing those momentum-shifting plays and focus instead on fundamentals. Its good to see the fight that the players had, to see the hard work.The Vikings are the first team since the 1962 Dallas Cowboys to have a 100-yard interception return touchdown and a 100-plus yard kickoff return touchdown in the same game. The Cowboys Amos Marsh had a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown and Mike Gaechter had a 100-yard interception return touchdown in Dallas 41-19 win over Philadelphia.The Vikings (6-4) held onto their first-place tie with Detroit in the NFC North, with a rematch against the Lions looming in four days. After scoring twice each on defense and special teams during their NFL-best 5-0 start, the Vikings failed to produce a return touchdown over their last four games until this breakthrough. They also sacked Carson Palmer four times, two by Danielle Hunter, for the most since their last victory six weeks ago.Palmer, who passed for 198 yards and two scores, was off the mark for much of the afternoon and had no time to find anyone on the final two possessions.They have a great front. They knew that we were in a position where we must throw, Palmer said. So they really pinned their ears back and had some good rushes, and we just couldnt quite get the ball out.David Johnson rushed for 103 yards and a score and tacked on 57 yards and a touchdown receiving, but the Cardinals (4-5-1) netted only 27 yards after halftime. The NFC runner-up last season fell further into the background of the playoff picture with four more road games remaining.Its an uphill climb, but I feel like with the veterans we have, the leaders, the players we have, we definitely still have a chance, said Johnson, who has topped 100 yards from scrimmage in all 10 games, only the fourth player to do so since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.TENSION, GONEThe Cardinals climbed within six points after Chandler Jones sacked Sam Bradford to force a fumble that Deoone Bucannon recovered at the Vikings 27.ddddddddddddThat set up Johnsons third-down catch in the end zone with 7:24 remaining.John Browns 32-yard punt return put the Cardinals in excellent position, but the Vikings fired up their pass rush and quickly forced a punt. They had to kick it back, but Jeff Locke boomed a 72-yard punt after a friendly roll to the Arizona 13 with 2:20 left.It was weighing on everyone, said Bradford, who went 20 for 28 for 169 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. I think you could feel it just at practice and in the locker room. So the joy of winning, its a great feeling. That feeling we had in the locker room today, I think it solved a lot of problems.FITZS FRUITLESS VISITLarry Fitzgerald had six catches for 63 yards, leaving his native city with a loss for the fifth time in five trips in his NFL career. Fitzgerald has scored only one touchdown in eight all-time games against the Vikings, the team he used to serve as a ball boy for when Dennis Green was the coach. Green, who died on July 22 at age 67, was honored before the game with a video tribute and a painting presentation to his wife and three of his children.OMINOUS DEBUTNew Vikings kicker Kai Forbath made a short field goal and three extra points, but he had one PAT blocked in the second quarter that loomed large at the end. Forbaths ensuing kickoff was short, setting up a 49-yard return by Brittan Golden. Forbath replaced Blair Walsh, who missed a league-leading four extra points.INJURY REPORTCardinals: DT Corey Peters (foot) and FS Tyrann Mathieu (shoulder) were inactive, with Mathieu sidelined for a second straight game. RT Mike Iupati limped off after hurting his left ankle in the second quarter but returned before halftime.Vikings: Nickel CB Captain Munnerlyn (ankle) and punt returner Marcus Sherels (ankle) each returned from injuries that kept them out last week.UP NEXTCardinals: They visit Atlanta next Sunday. Theyve lost their last three games in the Eastern time zone, including at Buffalo and Carolina this season.Vikings: They play their first Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit since 1995, their only loss in six all-time appearances on the holiday. Their last Thanksgiving Day game was in 2000 at Dallas.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '