Napheesa Collier had 30 points and nine rebounds, Kayla McBride added 24 points, and the Minnesota Lynx topped the New York Liberty 100-93 on Wednesday night in a rematch of last year's WNBA Finals.
Bridget Carleton made a 3-pointer from the corner with 7:08 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Minnesota a 79-66 lead. She added Minnesota’s 14th 3-pointer - on just 27 attempts - less than two minutes later to make it 84-69.
Minnesota's lead reached 92-77 before New York scored 11 straight over a two-minute stretch to get within four. Collier ended the run on a three-point play with 50.1 seconds left for a seven-point lead.
Collier went 11 of 16 from the field and 6 of 9 at the free-throw line to record her fifth 30-point game of the season for Minnesota (23-5). The Lynx connected on a season-high 15 3-pointers and reached 100 points for the fourth time this season.
Sabrina Ionescu countered with 31 points for New York (17-9), which did not have star Breanna Stewart due to a bone bruise in her right knee. Isabelle Harrison added 15 points and Marine Johannes scored 14.
Hillmon’s late 3-pointer lifts Dream
Naz Hillmon made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left and scored 12 of her career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Atlanta Dream to an 88-85 victory over the Dallas Wings.
Allisha Gray had 15 points, Brionna Jones scored 14 and Maya Caldwell added a season-high 13 for Atlanta (16-11).
Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers scored nine of her 21 points in the last five minutes for her 11th 20-point game this season.
She hit a 3-pointer that gave Dallas a one-point lead with 2:36 to play. Brionna Jones answered with a bucket inside, but Bueckers was fouled as she made a driving layup and hit the free throw to make it 83-81 with 2 minutes remaining.
Te-Hina Paopao made a driving layup and then made a backdoor cut, caught a pass from Jones and made a layup to give the Dream a two-point lead with 34 seconds left. Arike Ogunbowale answered with a fadeaway jumper with 21 seconds to go before Hillmon hit the winner.
McDonald leads short-handed Fever past Mercury
Aari McDonald scored a career-high 27 points, Aliyah Boston had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the short-handed Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury 107-101 for their third straight victory.
Indiana star Caitlin Clark remained sidelined with a right groin injury and there’s no timetable for her return. The Fever improved to 7-7 without Clark this season.
Boston scored Indiana’s opening 14 points of the fourth quarter for an 88-79 lead and finished with her fourth straight double-double.
Indiana’s 10th 3-pointer came on Chloe Bibby’s shot from the corner with 5:27 remaining to make it 91-83. Then Sophie Cunningham was fouled while making a 3, and she sank the free throw for an 11-point lead.
Cunningham and Damiris Dantas each scored 12 points for Indiana (15-12), which tallied 100-plus for the third time this season. Kelsey Mitchell, who scored a season-high 35 points on Sunday, was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Alyssa Thomas led Phoenix (16-10) with 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Kahleah Copper added 22 points and Sami Whitcomb scored 18. The Mercury have lost four of their last five games.
