Lynx vs. Aces: Olivia Miles Scores 23 as Minnesota Grabs a Franchise-Best 15th Road Win of the Season

A'ja Wilson poured in 32, went 11 of 12 at the foul line and did everything at Michelob ULTRA Arena short of collecting tickets at the door. On most nights that is a win. Saturday was not most nights, because the team at the other end was the Minnesota Lynx, and the Lynx have more or less stopped losing away from home.

Olivia Miles scored 23 with eight assists, Napheesa Collier added 19, and the WNBA-leading Lynx beat the Las Vegas Aces 92-87. The AP counted it as Minnesota's franchise-best 15th road win of the season, and the road record now reads 15-2. That is not a typo.

Back and Forth, Then Just Forth

The first half played like two people trying to fit through the same door at once. Minnesota led 23-19 after one, and the Aces opened the second with a flurry: a banked 3 from Mai Yamamoto, a Wilson layup on the break and a Jackie Young 3 for a quick 8-0 and a 33-31 lead. Nobody could shake anybody after that. The score was knotted seven times in the final six minutes of the half, and Wilson's midrange jumper with 34 seconds left sent the teams to the locker room at 48-48.

Wilson had 19 by then, and Las Vegas was living in the paint with her and NaLyssa Smith. Minnesota's response came early in the third. Kayla McBride's three free throws kicked off an 8-0 run that made it 62-52, and the Lynx would not trail again.

The Aces kept coming. They cut it to 66-64 with a minute left in the third, only to watch Minnesota score the final eight points of the quarter for a 74-64 lead. Las Vegas then opened the fourth with nine straight, and at 74-73 with 7:27 left, the building was very much back in it.

Collier's deep 3 helped push the margin back to seven, and Miles took over from there. She scored on consecutive drives and made two free throws in a span of 1:45, answering every Aces bucket with one of her own. Jewell Loyd's 3 made it 86-82, Wilson's free throws made it 88-84 and Chelsea Gray's 24-footer with 11.3 left made it 90-87. Courtney Williams and Collier went 4 for 4 at the line in the final 26.9 seconds, and that was that.

Miles Ahead

Miles was the best guard on the floor when it mattered. She shot 8 of 15 overall and 3 of 8 from deep, hit all four of her free throws, and piled up eight assists to go with four rebounds. Five turnovers were the only thing holding that line back from perfection, and her work in the final four minutes is why Minnesota kept its nose in front.

Collier needed only 11 shots for her 19, going 2 of 3 from 3 and 5 of 6 at the line while playing just 25 minutes with five fouls. Natasha Howard quietly added 13 points and 11 rebounds, McBride had 13 with four steals, and Williams scored 12. The bench star was Nia Brodie, who hit 4 of 5 from 3 for all 12 of her points and went plus-13 in 27 minutes. The Lynx used only eight players, and with Dorka Juhasz and Maya Caldwell going scoreless in their combined 15 minutes, six players did all of the scoring.

Wilson was sublime: 10 of 15 from the field, seven rebounds, two steals, one 3 and a free-throw clinic. Smith was a monster on the glass with 17 points and 12 rebounds, nine of them offensive. The rest of the Vegas perimeter struggled to keep pace. Gray scored 12 with nine assists but shot 5 of 15, and Young had nine assists and six turnovers with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Loyd added 10 on nine shots, and Yamamoto's six points came on 2-of-3 shooting from deep.

The Last Minute of the Third

Rewind to that 66-64 score with 59.8 seconds left in the third. Las Vegas had just erased almost all of a 10-point deficit and had the crowd up. Instead of letting the Aces finish the job, Minnesota rattled off eight points in under a minute and carried a 74-64 lead to the fourth.

Then look at what came next. The Aces' best run of the night, those nine straight points to open the fourth, only got them to within one. Without that final-minute push from the Lynx, that same run puts Las Vegas in front and changes the entire temperature of the closing stretch. Instead, the Aces spent all that energy just catching up, and they never got over the top.

Stats That Matter

• 3-pointers: Minnesota 11 of 26 (42 percent), Las Vegas 9 of 28 (32 percent). Brodie's 4 of 5 was a big piece of that gap.
• Shooting: Lynx 50 percent from the field, Aces 45 percent.
• Free throws: Minnesota missed only one, going 17 of 18.
• Offensive rebounds: Aces 12, Lynx 7, with Smith responsible for nine of those 12.
• Assists: Las Vegas won that battle 20-14 and still lost, because Minnesota's guards kept beating people off the dribble.

The Standings Are Starting to Look Silly

Minnesota moved to 29-7 and has won four straight, including two against Las Vegas in the span of a week after a 98-87 home win on Aug. 8. One of the two road losses on that ledger came in this same building, a 100-97 decision on June 13, so Saturday also gave Minnesota a 2-1 edge in the season series. The Lynx take on Golden State on Wednesday. The Aces fell to 24-12 overall and 11-6 at home, their two-game winning streak over, and they get Atlanta at home on Tuesday.

The Lynx Tour Rolls On

Minnesota's road record has started to feel like a stadium tour: every city gets the same show, the locals show up to watch it happen, and the band leaves town with the money. Wilson gave Las Vegas everything she had, and it was glorious. It was also the opening act.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press.