The WNBA’s two most explosive offenses went at it Sunday afternoon, and the finish belonged to Minnesota’s backcourt.
Olivia Miles delivered a 3-point play with 59 seconds left, Courtney Williams followed with a floater 26 seconds later, and the Lynx survived a late scare to beat Indiana 108-100 at Target Center. Minnesota nearly coughed up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, but still walked away with its 10th straight win - its longest run since a 13-game streak in 2016.
Miles was the engine early and the closer late. She poured in 23 of her 28 points in the first half, which ended with Minnesota ahead 64-53, and she also handed out six assists. It was her 10th game this season with at least 20 points and five assists, moving her past Maya Moore (2015) for the most such games in a single season.
Williams added 27 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Minnesota got double figures from all five starters while shooting 56.6% from the field. Napheesa Collier finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Natasha Howard scored 13 and Kayla McBride added 10. The Lynx have scored more than 100 points in six of their last eight games and 10 times overall.
Indiana made the afternoon plenty uncomfortable. The Fever shot 57.4%, led by Kelsey Mitchell’s 37 points and lost for the first time in six games.
Even in defeat, Indiana extended its WNBA-record streak of triple-digit scoring games to six. Caitlin Clark posted 19 points and 10 assists, but she went 2 for 9 from 3-point range and committed her fourth turnover with 27 seconds left.
Minnesota seemed to have the game under control when it went up 98-84 with 5:39 remaining. Then Mitchell and Makayla Timpson sparked a 12-0 Indiana burst over the next 2 1/2 minutes, trimming the margin and turning the final stretch into a pressure test in front of 16,505 fans.
The Lynx steadied themselves from there. Howard scored on a putback to make it 102-98, and after Clark missed back-to-back 3-pointers and Mitchell missed one as well, Miles attacked quickly, beat Mitchell around the edge, finished a reverse layup and converted the free throw.
Miles also had her fingerprints all over a decisive second-quarter stretch. She scored nine of Minnesota’s 13 points during a run that pushed the Lynx ahead 57-45, their biggest lead of the period. The sequence included a step-back 3, a stutter-step drive past two defenders for a finger roll, another driving layup and one more finger-roll finish at the rim.
Much of that work came with Miles matched up on Mitchell, and the respect between the two showed afterward. “I told her, ‘You’re so tough.’
I was like, ‘What do you eat?’ ” Miles said.
“She was just laughing and she was just telling me to stay inspired and keep growing the game and stay true to myself. It’s cool when you have that talk in the middle of the game and when you’re competing against each other you acknowledge the mutual respect.”
The game also had a tense backdrop off the floor. Reeve wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt, while people supporting and opposing Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s view of keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports gathered outside the arena. Cunningham was booed every time she touched the ball.
Reeve and Cunningham spoke before tipoff, though Reeve did not go into detail about the conversation. “I think both of us understand that we have platforms, and we both talked about wanting to more than anything educate, and there are some things that we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on, just like any issues.
I think it’s how you handle things. And, so, it was nice to be in person for sure.”
Minnesota also stood pat at the trade deadline, making no moves before the league’s 2 p.m. cutoff. The team did receive a season-ending injury exemption for center Emma Čechová, who tore a knee ligament May 14, and that exemption will be used on guard Eliška Joklová (nee Hamzová), whose third seven-day contract is nearing its end.
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