Lynx vs. Sun: Cheryl Reeve Sets WNBA Regular-Season Coaching Wins Record With 380th in 86-80 Win

Three tries, one deeply awkward home loss and 10 days of everyone asking about the same number, and Cheryl Reeve can finally stop talking about it. Dorka Juhasz drilled a 26-foot three with 7.1 seconds left on Wednesday night, a shot that was mostly decorative by then, and the Minnesota Lynx left Mohegan Sun Arena with the win their coach had been circling since June.

The final was 86-80 over the Connecticut Sun, and it gave Reeve 380 regular-season wins, one more than Mike Thibault and the most by any coach in WNBA history. In a twist no screenwriter would bother pitching, Thibault's son Eric sits on her bench as Minnesota's associate head coach. He had a front-row seat for the whole thing.

A Record Chase With Too Many Episodes

Reeve pulled even with Thibault on June 28 with an 85-77 win at Dallas, and then the whole thing turned into a streaming series that refuses to end. The Lynx lost Friday in New York. Then they dropped a 90-89 stunner at home on Monday to these same Sun, who had walked in with four wins. Those were Minnesota's first back-to-back losses of the season, which is some truly comedic timing.

For a while, Wednesday looked like another cliffhanger. The first half never settled down. An 8-0 Sun burst that straddled the quarter break flipped a 21-17 Minnesota lead into a 25-21 hole, and Connecticut eventually stretched its edge to 37-29. The Lynx answered with 12 straight points to go up 41-37. The Sun immediately ripped off eight of their own and took a 45-41 lead to the locker room. There were 13 lead changes in all, and neither side ever led by more than eight.

The third quarter offered no relief for anyone hoping to exhale. Connecticut carried a 65-60 lead into the fourth, and you could practically hear the Lynx traveling party bracing for another round of the same questions.

Juhasz Picked a Great Time to Wake Up

Monday was Juhasz's season debut, and it was rough: three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Wednesday she came off the bench and scored 12 in 19 minutes, every point from behind the arc, going 4 of 6 with six rebounds and a plus-9. Three of those four threes landed in the final five minutes, right when the Sun were trying to climb back into it.

Kayla McBride was the adult in the room. She finished with a game-high 23 on 6-of-10 shooting, hit both her threes, went 9 of 9 at the line and added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block without a single turnover in 38 minutes. Compare that with Monday, when she scored 28 but gave it away six times. Same bucket-getter, much cleaner receipt.

Natasha Howard added 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a season that has her teammates gushing. "You see (Howard) playing out of her mind," All-Star rookie Olivia Miles said Friday. "Everyone thought she was done." Miles missed her second straight game with a calf strain, and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier remains sidelined, which makes Minnesota's record look a little ridiculous. Courtney Williams chipped in 12 points and seven assists, though her five turnovers kept things interesting.

Connecticut's best was Leila Lacan, with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists. Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 14 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Diamond Miller got 13 by living at the line, where she went 9 for 9 on a night she made just two shots from the field. The Sun were short-handed, too. Brittney Griner, who torched Minnesota for 29 two nights earlier, sat with a left quad strain. Saniya Rivers left the floor in a wheelchair with a left ankle sprain and never came back.

Where the Party Actually Started

Connecticut led 70-68 with 6:36 to play. Then Minnesota scored eight straight in a little under two minutes, capped by Juhasz's first dagger from 26 feet, and it was 76-70. The Sun had one real punch left. Gianna Kneepkens answered with a three, Juhasz answered her with a 22-footer off a McBride feed, and Nelson-Ododa's three-point play at 4:03 cut it to 79-76.

That was the last field goal Connecticut made. McBride floated one in, Anastasiia Olairi Kosu scored to make it 83-76 with 3:07 left, and the Sun's final four points all came from Miller at the foul line. Minnesota won the fourth quarter 26-15, which is how a five-point deficit becomes a six-point win and a nervous evening becomes a line in the record book.

Stats That Matter

• 26-15: Minnesota's fourth-quarter margin, the whole ballgame in one line.
• 10 of 22: The Lynx from three, against 6 of 23 for the Sun. Juhasz and McBride combined to go 6 of 8.
• 32: Minnesota's bench points, with Juhasz at 12 and Antonia Delaere at 10.
• 18: Connecticut turnovers, worth 16 Lynx points. Minnesota gave up 13 on its own 14 giveaways.
• 9 of 9: McBride and Miller, each, at the line. Everybody else in the game went 24 of 36.

What It Means

The Lynx are 16-6, a half-game in front of defending champion Las Vegas atop the standings, and an absurd 10-2 on the road. Their next four are at home, starting Saturday against the same New York team that spoiled Reeve's first shot at the record. They also evened the season series with Connecticut at a game apiece.

Connecticut falls to 5-17 and 3-9 at home, with Golden State coming to town on Friday.

As for the resume, it was already silly. Reeve took the Lynx job in 2010, has been named coach of the year four times and led the franchise to all four of its titles, a total matched only by Houston and Seattle. She already owned the WNBA playoff wins record, and she went into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on June 27. This just adds another line to a very long page.

Finally, Some Peace and Quiet

Reeve gave the gracious answer about the man she passed. "(I) learned a lot from Mike through the years," she said. "I know he's happy for me. And somebody's going to pass me and I'll be happy for them, too."

Lovely. But the truest thing she said came first, and it had nothing to do with legacy. "I am so glad this is over," Reeve said. That's not a coach savoring a coronation. That's somebody who just got her group chat back.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and game details as reported by the Associated Press. Additional quotes and career notes from The Athletic via WNBA.com.