Minnesota Lynx fall to Indiana Fever 71-69

Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points, Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith had double-doubles, and the Indiana Fever rallied in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Lynx 71-69 on Friday night.

Mitchell made 9 of 16 from the field and added three 3-pointers, Smith had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Boston added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Erica Wheeler scored 10 points.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kayla McBride and Rachel Banham gave the Lynx a 52-46 lead with 1:38 left in the third quarter and Minnesota led 55-51 heading into the fourth quarter.

The score was tied five times in the fourth quarter before Indiana (2-5) took the lead for good on Mitchell’s three-point play with 1:54 left. A pair of free throws by Wheeler gave the Fever a 71-66 lead near the one-minute mark. Napheesa Collier hit a three-pointer to get Minnesota within two points with 1:01 remaining but neither team scored again.

Collier had 28 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota (1-7) and McBride added 11 points.

Tiffany Mitchell hit two short shots in the lane and turned one of them into a three-point play, giving Minnesota a 25-21 lead midway through the second quarter. There would be four ties later in the quarter before Erica Wheeler hit a 19-foot pull-up jumper with 16 seconds left to give Indiana a 36-34 halftime lead.