Lynx defense keys Minnesota’s fifth straight win
On a night the Lynx had one of their poorer offensive outputs this season, the defense remained stout.
Dorka Juhász scored 10 points off the bench, had a season-high 11 rebounds and was a team-best plus-19 as Minnesota beat Atlanta 68-55 Wednesday night at Target Center.
The Lynx (12-3) have won five in a row and eight of nine.
Bridget Carleton, who missed Monday’s win with an elbow injury, finished with 14 points. Her third 3-pointer with 1:41 left gave Minnesota a 12-point lead. She added another less than a minute later for good measure.
Napheesa Collier scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Kayla McBride had eight points, and Courtney Williams had seven points and a team-high six assists.
Entering the night shooting a league-high 46.3% from the field and WNBA-best 40.5% from outside the arc, the Lynx ended at 35.5% and 31.8% respectively.
Led by Juhász, the Minnesota bench outscored Atlanta 19-6.
Atlanta (6-7) not only lost for the third time in four games, but the Dream’s top scorer, Rhyne Howard, needed help to the locker room with a lower left leg injury in the third quarter.
The Dream shot just 28.8% and missed 19 of 23 3-point attempts.
Minnesota outscored Atlanta 36-22 in the paint.
Keyed by a 13-0 run between the first and second quarters, Minnesota led 35-30 at the break.
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