Lynx go cold late but hold off Mercury
Odyssey Sims scored 15 points as the Minnesota Lynx held off the Phoenix Mercury 58-56 on Thursday in Minneapolis.
Lexie Brown had 12 points, and Sylvia Fowles added 10 points and six rebounds for the Lynx. Minnesota won despite not scoring in the final 4 minutes, 10 seconds.
Phoenix was led by DeWanna Bonner's 25 points. She made 9 of 18 shots from the field, although she went 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Her teammates were a combined 12 of 39 from the field.
Minnesota looked like it would take control when Fowles made a layup to give the Lynx a 40-24 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
The Mercury, who trailed 49-36 entering the fourth quarter, went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 51-44 left with 5:38 remaining.
Phoenix, playing without injured guard Diana Taurasi (back), cut the lead to 58-56 on Bonner's jump shot with 1:34 left. Bonner had a chance to put the Mercury ahead, but her 3-point attempt with 48.7 seconds remaining was blocked by rookie Napheesa Collier.
After a 3-point miss by Minnesota's Damiris Dantas, Phoenix had the ball with 21.1 seconds left. Bonner was forced to take a contested 3-pointer over Collier with 1.8 seconds left that banged off the back of the rim.
Phoenix was cold from the floor from the start, making only 1 of 10 shots from 3-point range in the first half.
Minnesota led 32-24 at halftime behind 11 points by Sims, who made 5 of 10 shots from the field.
The Lynx, who trailed 9-2 in the first quarter, outscored the Mercury 30-15 between the first and second quarters. Phoenix was held to only seven points in the second quarter, making 2 of 11 shots from the field and committing three turnovers.
Bonner, who made 1 of 5 from beyond the arc in the first half, led the Mercury with nine points at halftime.
--Field Level Media
