Twenty-three points, eight assists, and a Rookie of the Year case that keeps growing
Olivia Miles has been making this argument all season. Wednesday night in Las Vegas she made it loudest, going for 23 points and eight assists as the Minnesota Lynx beat the defending champions 92-87 on their own floor.
She had help. Natasha Howard finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, nine of those points and five of those boards arriving in a first quarter that set the tone (23-19 after 10 minutes).
Napheesa Collier added 19. Kayla McBride had 13. Nia Coffey and Courtney Williams put up 12 each. Five Lynx in double figures.
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The game turned in a third quarter Las Vegas never solved
Ten lead changes in the first half, the last of them at 48-48 when A’ja Wilson knocked down a jumper with 34 seconds on the clock.
Collier opened the second half with the first four points. Minnesota edged ahead, the Aces got back level at 52-50, and then the Lynx ripped off a 10-2 run capped by a Coffey three. That was the first double-digit lead of the night, 62-52, and it forced a Las Vegas timeout with 5:46 on the clock. Minnesota closed the quarter 12-5 to lead 74-64.
The Aces had one more push in them. Nine straight points to start the fourth, then a Chelsea Gray jumper, and suddenly it was 74-73 with 7:27 left. Collier hit back-to-back threes for 80-73. Her two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining ended it.
A’ja Wilson scored 32 and it did not matter
Wilson was close to unstoppable. Ten of 15 from the field, 11 of 12 at the line, 32 points and seven rebounds. NaLyssa Smith gave her 17 points and 12 boards, Gray had 12, Jewell Loyd 10.
Las Vegas (24-12) still lost, and their two-game winning streak with it. Minnesota (29-7) have won four in a row, beating the Aces twice in eight days after taking care of them at home last Saturday. Fourteen wins in their last 15 games, and first place overall looking safer by the week.
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