LAS VEGAS — Olivia Miles had 23 points and eight assists, Napheesa Collier added 19 points and the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-87 on Saturday night.
Natasha Howard added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota (29-7). Kayla McBride scored 13 points and Courtney Williams and Nia Coffey each had 12.
Collier’s deep 3-pointer gave the Lynx a seven-point lead with a little less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and Minnesota led by at least five points until Jewell Loyd’s 3-pointer cut it to 86-82 with under three minutes remaining.
The margin was four points once again after the Aces’ A’ja Wilson made two free throws with 1:09 to go. Williams and Collier made two free throws each in the final minute to seal Minnesota’s franchise-best 15th road win of the season.
Wilson scored 32 points, made 11 of 12 free throws and grabbed seven rebounds. NaLyssa Smith had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Chelsea Gray had 12 points and nine assists for the Aces (24-12).
The Aces ran off eight quick points on a banked 3-pointer by Japan’s Mai Yamamoto, a fast-break layup from Wilson and a 3-pointer by Jackie Young to take a 33-31 lead four minutes into the second quarter. The score was tied seven times over the final six minutes of the half, the last tie coming on Wilson’s midrange jumper with 34 seconds left for a 48-48 halftime score.
Las Vegas dominated in the paint in the first half, with Wilson scoring 19 points and Smith adding nine points and six rebounds. Combined, they made 13 of 18 shots.
LIBERTY 82, SUN 75
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Jonquel Jones scored 23 points and Marine Johannes keyed a fourth-quarter run to help New York beat Connecticut.
New York (22-14) played without Sabrina Ionescu, who tweaked her left ankle in a 85-81 win over Los Angeles on Thursday. Liberty Coach Chris DeMarco said before Saturday’s game that Ionescu was day to day and they were being precautionary with her.
The Liberty, who have won nine of their past 11 games, got off to a slow start without Ionescu. The Sun led 27-19 after one quarter. This came after the Liberty gave up 40 points to the Sparks in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game. Jones then got going, scoring 19 points in the first half as New York rallied to take a 46-37 lead at the break.
Connecticut (8-25) hung around and trailed 63-62 early in the fourth quarter. With New York reeling and the shot clock set to expire, Johannes hit a one-legged off-balance 3-pointer to make it 66-62.
That started a 10-2 run by New York to seal the win. Johannes, who finished with 17 points, hit another 3 to close the burst.
MYSTICS 80, SPARKS 70
WASHINGTON — Sonia Citron scored 21 points, Shakira Austin had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Washington rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Los Angeles.
Kiki Iriafen added 19 points and eight rebounds for Washington (20-14), which was coming off two straight losses at Las Vegas. Citron had eight assists and six rebounds.
Austin’s layup with six minutes left in the fourth quarter gave Washington a 65-64 lead, its first advantage since it was 41-39 at halftime. With three minutes left, Citron hit a 3-pointer for a 74-69 lead and the Mystics closed it out with a 9-1 run.
Washington outscored Los Angeles 25-12 in the fourth quarter.
Rae Burrell scored 20 points, Nneka Ogwumike had 15 and Dearica Hamby added 11 for the Sparks (12-22).