Minnesota Lynx overwhelm Connecticut Sun with 26-point run, winning 102-63

Just over a month ago, also at Target Center, the Lynx hosted the Connecticut Sun. Minnesota started the game slowly, spending the better part of 3½ quarters digging a hole that only a 23-2 finish of the game could overcome.

Not this time.

On Sunday night, the Lynx started fast, took a breath, then blew the Suns’ doors off in a 102-63 victory, the third-biggest winning margin in franchise history.

“We were just talking about how it’s nice not to be stressed for a game,” Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said.

Not stressful. Celebratory.

Coller celebrated being named a WNBA All-Star Game captain by scoring 23 points with nine rebounds, two steals and a block. Kayla McBride was 5-for-9 on three-pointers and scored 20 points, in the process continuing her scramble up the all-time three-pointer chart. She now has 653 threes and has moved into seventh place in league history.

The Lynx (14-2) opened the game 10-2 and led by 20 before some of the announced crowd of 8,821 found their seats. After the Sun (2-15) pulled within four, McBride’s three-pointer started a 5-0 end to the first quarter and Alanna Smith’s layup with less than three minutes left in the half ended a 21-0 start to the second.

That’s a 26-0 run overall in about eight minutes. The Lynx held the Sun to 0-for-14 shooting and five turnovers during that stretch.

“We didn’t make excuses about coming off the road or being tired,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, whose team won in overtime Friday in Atlanta. “I thought our level of focus was really good. Probably had a lot to do with the last time we played these guys. We just didn’t feel we started the game very well.”

That wasn’t a problem Sunday.

On a night when 11 Lynx players scored and nine had five or more points, the Lynx shot 50.7%, had 27 assists and outrebounded the Sun 41-27. Minnesota scored 23 points off turnovers and 18 on the break.

There was other dominance. Collier scored as many third-quarter points (15) as the entire Connecticut team. Collier and McBride combined for 24 of Minnesota’s 27 points in the quarter.

That all added up to a 39-point win. Only a 59-point victory over Indiana in 2017 and a 43-point win over Los Angeles in 2006 were bigger.

That allowed Reeve to rest her starters, none of whom played more than McBride’s 28-plus minutes. McBride played three-plus minutes in the fourth, Bridget Carleton 1:45. The rest sat. And that could be crucial for a team starting a stretch of five games in eight days, one that includes the Commissioner’s Cup championship against Indiana on Tuesday night.

BOXSCORE: Lynx 102, Connecticut 63

WNBA standings

There might be plenty of time for stress in the coming days, including trying to defend the Commissioner’s Cup title won last summer in New York.

But there wasn’t a lot of it Sunday.

“It’s just good for us to take care of business,” Collier said. “For many reasons. We’re doing the things we need to do to reach the goals we have set for ourselves. It’s nice to catch a break where you can.”

The Lynx victory, coupled with losses by Phoenix (to Las Vegas) and New York (to Atlanta), extended Minnesota’s position atop the league standings. The Lynx have a 2½-game lead over the Mercury and a three-game lead over the Liberty.