Nia Coffey drilled a wide-open 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds left, and the Minnesota Lynx held on to beat the Phoenix Mercury 88-84 on Tuesday night in Phoenix. Olivia Miles then made 1 of 2 free throws with 13.2 seconds left to seal it after a composed finish from a Minnesota team playing without Napheesa Collier.
Coffey finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Miles had 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Natasha Howard added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Kayla McBride scored 14, and Courtney Williams and Emma Cechova each finished with 11 as Minnesota improved to 1-1. Miles set up Coffey's third 3-pointer with a drive and pass, a play that gave the Lynx the breathing room they needed in the final half-minute.
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 30 points, shooting 9 of 21 from the field and 10 of 13 at the free-throw line. DeWanna Bonner added 16 points, Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and eight assists, and Natasha Mack finished with 10 rebounds and nine points. The Mercury, now 1-2, took a 45-41 halftime lead and kept pressure on Minnesota for most of the night.
Phoenix's early edge came from the perimeter. Seven of its 14 made field goals in the first half were 3-pointers, but the Mercury made only two shots from behind the arc after halftime and leaned heavily on free throws, finishing 23 of 33 at the line. Minnesota did enough in the closing minutes to erase the deficit and prevent Phoenix from using the same formula again.
The result mattered because Minnesota was without Collier, last season's runner-up in MVP voting, and her absence is expected to last until at least early June as she continues to recover from ankle surgery in March. She also had surgery on her right ankle in early January. For one night, the Lynx found enough from their depth and late-game execution to survive in one of the league's more difficult road environments.
What comes next is clearer for Minnesota than for Phoenix: the Lynx head into the next stretch at.500, with a roster that has already shown it can close tight games even before Collier returns.
