Lynx show they can beat the best, top Liberty behind McBride, Miller
A rookie playing her first professional game in the Big Apple.
Big shot.
You get the feeling you'll remember this shot. One-point game, with the New York Liberty — the second-best team in the WNBA — on a 14-0 run to pull within a point in the closing moments.
And then: Diamond Miller took a pass from Bridget Carleton. She had a shot, from 26 feet. She took it. Good.
With the bleeding stopped, the Lynx pulled out an improbable 88-83 win, achieved in their first game without star Napheesa Collier, who is expected to be out a week to 10 days with a sprained right ankle.
"She's not afraid of the big moment,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after Miller, with family in the stands at Barclays Center, scored 22 points with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. "Lots of times rookies can be intimidated. Look at some of the names on the other side. The rookies we had were excited for the moment.''
What a moment.
It was a nearly four-quarter-long exhibition of unselfish play and efficiency at both ends of the floor. Led by veteran Kayla McBride, who scored 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting, the Lynx beat the Liberty — playing for the second time in two nights — by standing up to pressure, seizing the moment.
Fellow rookie Dorka Juhász, asked to guard Liberty star Breanna Stewart much of the night, had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for Minnesota (12-13), which won its second straight game, both against teams ahead of them in the standings.
This with Collier watching, and the Liberty (18-6) charging. Hard.
The Lynx led by 15 after McBride hit a three-pointer with 7:47 left.
Over the next four-plus minutes, it was all Sabrina Ionescu (31 points) and Stewart (23). They led a 14-0 run to pull within a point on two Stewart free throws with 2:57 left.
At the other end. Bridget Carleton missed. But Juhász got the rebound. Eventually the ball found its way to Miller, who shot.
"I knew it was good as soon as it left her hand,'' McBride said. "It was going in.''
BOXSCORE: Lynx 88, New York 83
After a New York miss, McBride hustled down for a layup for a six-point lead with 2:07 left. Jonquel Jones made one of two free throws with 1:08 left, but Miller responded with two of her own for a seven-point Lynx lead with 45.5 seconds left.
"Dorka and Diamond were excited to play,'' Reeve said. "They were not afraid. They enjoyed who they were playing against. They were in the moment.''
And in the mix. The game was the reschedule of a game postponed in June because of smoke from Canadian wildfires. Playing on consecutive nights, the Liberty sat starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot.
The Lynx, without Collier, played tough from the start. They shot 46.5% and held New York to 36.1% overall, 10-for-35 on threes, with Ionescu hitting seven of those. Stewart was held to 5-for-19 shooting. The Lynx had a 40-24 edge in the paint, an 18-13 edge on second-chance points, a 14-5 edge off the bench.
And that 14-0 run? The Lynx went 0-for-6 with three turnovers in that stretch, but didn't panic. In their 11-7 finish to the game Miller scored seven points.
"I've been impressed with our rookies,'' said McBride. "They came in ready to compete. Ready to learn, eager to listen.''
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
