Lynx vs. Mercury: Kayla McBride Scores 37, Olivia Miles Adds Career-High 33 in 104-100 Minnesota Win

Twenty-three lead changes is less a basketball game than a time-share agreement. Phoenix and Minnesota spent Monday night at Target Center passing the keys back and forth, threw in 13 ties for good measure, and shot so well that defense started to feel like a rumor somebody's cousin had heard about. Eventually someone had to keep the place, and it was the Lynx duo with 70 points between them.

The final was Minnesota 104-100, with Kayla McBride's season-high 37 and a career-high 33 from rookie Olivia Miles carrying the Lynx to a third straight win. The Phoenix Mercury scored 100 on 56 percent shooting, got a 19-point, 12-assist night from Alyssa Thomas, and led for nearly two-thirds of the game. None of it was enough.

Nobody Could Hold the Lease

The strangest part of Phoenix's night is where it started. Two days earlier in Las Vegas, the Mercury lost 106-58. On Monday they opened with 27 points in the first quarter alone, built a 27-21 lead and looked nothing like a team that had just been flattened.

Minnesota answered with 29 in the second and took a 50-49 edge to the locker room, but Phoenix had already started a 10-0 run in the final minute of the half. It carried over the break and turned a 50-45 deficit into a 55-50 lead with 8:46 left in the third. An 8-0 burst later in the quarter, from 58-57 down to 65-58 up, gave the Mercury their most comfortable stretch of the night. Their biggest lead was nine, and they took a 75-69 advantage into the fourth.

Then the final period turned into a track meet with a free-throw subplot. Minnesota scored 35 in the quarter. McBride sank three at the line to make it 89-87 with 3:37 left, Kahleah Copper matched with two of her own, and McBride's 25-footer at 3:17 broke the 89-89 tie. From there nobody led by more than five. Sami Whitcomb answered from 25 feet, Monique Akoa Makani's running layup tied it at 96 with 1:41 to go, and DeWanna Bonner's 15-foot pull-up tied it again at 98 with 1:05 left. Every Minnesota haymaker came back with a receipt.

Seventy Points and a Rookie With No Fear

McBride's line was absurd in every column. She made 11 of 17 shots, 6 of 11 from deep and all nine of her free throws, then added six rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 35 minutes for good measure. The 37 left her one point shy of the career high she set in 2018, which is a long time to wait for a rematch with your own best night.

Miles played like nobody has told her rookies are supposed to need time. She went 10 of 16, hit 5 of 8 threes and 8 of 9 free throws, and handed out eight assists. She also had five turnovers and five fouls, because a game this loud was always going to include some static. The Associated Press added a piece of league history to her night: no one in the WNBA has ever piled up 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists faster. It took her 22 games.

Phoenix deserves credit for refusing to go away. Copper scored 26 on 9-of-14 shooting and went 5 of 5 at the line. Thomas had 19 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists while running an offense that assisted on 28 of its 35 baskets. Akoa Makani added 17 on 6-of-9 shooting and finished with six fouls, Bonner had 17 and nine boards, and Whitcomb made 3 of 4 threes off the bench. On most nights that's a win and a pleasant ride home.

Minnesota's supporting cast was quieter on the scoreboard and useful everywhere else. Natasha Howard had 13 points and seven assists. Courtney Williams scored eight, grabbed seven rebounds, swiped two steals and finished plus-nine. Eliska Joklova's eight points were the only ones the Lynx bench produced.

The Final 45 Seconds

The game finally tilted late. With the score tied at 98, Miles fed McBride for a 22-foot three at the 45.1 mark, the sixth of McBride's night, and Minnesota had a 101-98 cushion. Akoa Makani's 17-footer at 33.1 cut it to one. So Miles went back to work, getting into the paint and dropping the ball off for a 2-foot Howard layup at 21.1. Williams then took the ball away on the next Phoenix trip, and Miles split a pair at the line with 17 seconds to go for the final margin.

Here's the number that explains the ending. From McBride's three at 3:17 until the horn, Minnesota scored 15 points, and Miles scored or assisted on every single one: seven of her own, plus the passes on both McBride threes and the Howard layup. Phoenix kept answering. Miles kept answering the answer.

The Numbers That Mattered

• Shooting: Phoenix 35 of 63, Minnesota 34 of 61, both 56 percent by ESPN's count.
• Free throws: Minnesota 24 of 26, Phoenix 19 of 21, a combined 43 of 47.
• Fast-break points: Minnesota 16, Phoenix 6.
• Points off turnovers: Minnesota 17, Phoenix 13.
• Steals and blocks: Minnesota had nine and four, Phoenix five and zero.

Where This Leaves Everybody

The Lynx move to 18-6 overall and 8-4 at home, winners of three straight after back-to-back losses to New York and Connecticut earlier this month. That record puts them a full game clear of Las Vegas and Golden State, both 17-7. They've also beaten Phoenix twice this season, each time by four, after an 88-84 win in May. The Sparks come to Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Phoenix falls to 8-17 and 5-9 on the road with its fourth straight loss. The encouraging part is 42 more points than the Mercury managed two days earlier. The discouraging part is that scoring 100 on the road and still losing simply moves the problem to the other end of the floor. Connecticut visits Phoenix on Friday.

The Buddy Movie Nobody Asked Phoenix to Sit Through

Every good buddy movie pairs a veteran who has seen everything with a rookie who doesn't know she's supposed to be nervous. McBride came within a point of a number she set in 2018. Miles ran the last three minutes like she owned the building and the parking garage. Phoenix did almost everything you can ask of a road team and held the keys for most of the night. Minnesota just happened to have them when the horn went off.

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