Lynx hold onto precarious lead to polish off Mystics; Napheesa Collier hurts ankle

With the game uncomfortably close, with the Lynx clinging to a two-point lead late, Napheesa Collier was on the bench, hurt.

It was her right ankle.

Collier, the team's leading scorer (24 points), the team's only captain, left the game with 3:51 left and the Lynx up two over Washington at Target Center. Coach Cheryl Reeve's first thought:

"What were we going to do?" she said. "Who will take over the scoring responsibility?"

Turns out, in a 97-92 victory, the answers were: Win, and Diamond Miller and Nikolina Milic.

Despite defensive challenges — especially in the first half — that had the injury-ravaged Mystics in the lead at halftime and even late in the third, the Lynx did enough to pick up their second win of the season against a team ahead of them in the standings.

Both against Washington.

The win pushed the Lynx — who went 2-1 in their three-game homestand — to 11-13. But, in the middle of a difficult stretch of schedule, the prospect of being without Collier while she recovers is daunting. Reeve had no update right after the game, and the Lynx are set to play their next three games against top-three teams, starting Friday in New York.

That only made Wednesday's win more important.

"I thought we'd have to score 120 to have a chance," Reeve said. "Finally, we were able to get to a point where we got some stops."

The Lynx trailed by two at halftime despite scoring 58 points. The reason: a 60-point performance by Washington (12-11), which, led by Natasha Cloud (24 points) and Brittney Sykes (17), made 59.5% of its shots overall and six of 10 threes.

The Lynx held Washington to 32 points on 41.7% shooting in the second half — Sykes and Cloud combined for just nine after halftime — and they needed that. That and a 19-4 edge on points from the free-throw line that sent Cloud into a profanity-laced postgame tirade about the officiating. Both she and Mystics coach Eric Thibault could be hearing from the league Friday.

But back to crunch time.

The Lynx lead was down to one after Li Meng hit a three for Washington with 2:38 left. At the other end Milic was fouled by Cloud and hit both free throws with 2:22 left. After Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was called for traveling, Milic then took a pass from Lindsay Allen and scored on a 5-foot hook for a five-point lead with 1:48 left. The Lynx got another stop, and Miller drove the lane for a layup. After Cloud scored, Miller hit an 18-footer to ice the game.

Miller finished with 21 points, nine assists and one turnover, becoming the first WNBA rookie to score 20 or more with nine or more assists and one or zero turnovers. Kayla McBride had 15 points and three steals. That included a steal and a buzzer-beating shot at halftime that capped a 6-0 run.

But it was the end of the game that was key.

"It was about not panicking," McBride said of her team finishing without Collier. "All season long things have happened, unfortunate events. It was, 'Whatever it takes.' Nina made plays, Diamond."

Collier's injury comes just as the Lynx were inching back to health. Jessica Shepard, who had been out with a non-COVID-19 illness since June, returned and scored eight points in 12½ minutes.

Now the team might have to move forward, for a while, without Collier.