Kayla McBride scored 37 points on 11-for-17 shooting, and the Minnesota Lynx rallied for a 104-100 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Olivia Miles added 33 points and a team-high eight assists for Minnesota (18-6), which won its third game in a row. Natasha Howard finished with 13 points.
Kahleah Copper scored 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting to lead Phoenix (8-17), which dropped its fourth straight game. Alyssa Thomas tallied a double-double with 19 points and 12 assists, and DeWanna Bonner and Monique Akoa Makani scored 17 apiece.
Minnesota outscored Phoenix 35-25 in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory.
The Suns pulled ahead 77-69 when Thomas banked in a basket with 9:40 remaining.
The Lynx closed the game on a 35-23 run.
Miles put Minnesota on top 80-79 with 7:14 to go when she buried a 3-pointer from 28 feet with 7:14 left. Howard assisted on the basket.
Phoenix kept the score close in the back-and-forth battle. Copper hit a pull-up jumper to put the Mercury ahead 85-84 with 5:05 left.
Both teams battled until the final minute as Bonner made a jump shot to even the score at 98-all with 1:05 remaining.
McBride knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a 101-98 lead with 45.1 seconds left.
Akoa Makani made a shot from 17 feet to cut Phoenix’s deficit to 101-100 with 33.1 seconds to go. That proved to be the final basket for the Mercury, whose final deficit increased to four points after a layup by Howard and a free throw by Miles.
The Mercury opened a 27-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter. After the Lynx pulled within 19-18 on a three-point play by McBride, the Mercury finished the quarter on an 8-3 run that included 3-pointers by Copper and Sami Whitcomb.
Minnesota outscored Phoenix 29-22 in the second quarter to lead 50-49 at the half.
Phoenix regained a 75-69 lead at the end of the third quarter. Bonner made a driving layup with 6.0 seconds left to increase the Mercury’s lead to six points.
–Field Level Media
