Lynx erase late 11-point deficit to beat the Sparks
MINNEAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier had 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Minnesota rallied from a late 11-point deficit to defeat the Sparks 91-86 on Sunday, the day the Lynx honored Sylvia Fowles by retiring her No. 34 jersey.
A deep three-pointer by Lexie Brown gave the Sparks an 83-72 lead with 3½ minutes left before a three-pointer by Minnesota’s Rachel Banham started the game-winning rally.
A three-pointer by Bridget Carleton gave the Lynx an 84-83 lead with about a minute remaining. After a missed three and a turnover by the Sparks, Carleton added another long-range shot for a four-point Lynx lead.
Jordin Canada missed a three-point try with 23 seconds left, and the Sparks were forced to foul. Tiffany Mitchell made two free throws, Nneka Ogwumike sank a three for the Sparks’ only points of the final three minutes, and Mitchell hit two more free throws to wrap up the scoring.
Mitchell scored 17 points, Kayla McBride added 13 and Nikolina Milic had 10 for the Lynx. Jessica Shepard had 13 rebounds.
Ogwumike led all scorers with 27 points, while Brown contributed 21 and Canada added 18 for Los Angeles.
Nneka Ogwumike finishes with 19 points and 14 rebounds to help propel the Sparks to a 77-62 win over the Chicago Sky.
Minnesota led by six late in the second quarter, but the Sparks scored 10 points in the final two minutes before halftime to tie the score at 43.
After a back-and-forth start to the third quarter, Los Angeles went ahead by five when Canada hit a layup and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions. Minnesota did not fade, and when McBride made the last basket of the quarter, the Lynx trailed 64-62 heading to the fourth quarter of a game that was part of the Commissioner’s Cup series.
Fowles averaged 15.7 points and a WNBA-record 9.8 rebounds per game in a 15-year career with Chicago and Minnesota. She was part of Minnesota’s championship teams in 2015 and 2017. In 2021, she was selected one of the top 25 WNBA players of all time.
