Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 22 points and Diamond Miller hit the go-ahead free throws in the final minutes to boost the Minnesota Lynx to a 73-70 win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (10-12) squandered 20-point, first-half advantage but recovered to overtake the Sparks down the stretch.
Miller contributed 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as Minnesota stopped a three-game losing streak. Dorka Juhasz had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles (7-14) lost its seventh straight game. Nneka Ogwumike had a look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left, but the shot rimmed out.
Ogwumike scored 19 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals. Lexie Brown (13 points), Jordin Canada (12), and Layshia Clarendon (11) also scored in double figures, and Canada had eight assists.
Minnesota swept the four-game season series from Los Angeles.
The Sparks closed the third quarter on an 18-2 run to pull within a basket, and took a 63-61 lead on Brown’s jumper with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Trailing by one point after the first quarter, Minnesota outscored Los Angeles 28-10 in the second quarter to surge ahead.
The Lynx held a 46-29 advantage at the break, thanks to 57.6 percent shooting from the floor and a plus-5 rebounding advantage.
Juhasz impacted the game on both ends of the floor in the opening half, scoring 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. During one sequence late in the second quarter, she finished her own fastbreak after securing a steal. Juhasz was fouled, and although she was unable to finish the three-point play, she scored again on Minnesota’s next possession.
Ogwumike had 13 points for the Sparks at intermission, all in the first quarter. She didn’t attempt a field goal in the second quarter.
Lynx guard Rachel Banham missed the game due to a fractured right thumb. She suffered an injury to her hand July 9 but played in Minnesota’s next game three days later. The team announced that the injury would not necessitate surgery.
–Field Level Media
