The Minnesota Lynx come back to Target Center to finish off the home-and-home series against the Indiana Fever. Jess Shepherd’s triple-double carried them to victory on Friday night in an incredible performance in place of Napheesa Collier. MVPhee’s return makes this a must-watch as Minnesota looks for win number 30 and to take two from the Indiana Fever.
The energy was palpable in the arena as Collier’s return brought with it some extra noise. Early on, Phee was still working herself back into a rhythm as a few early pocket passes bounced off her hands for turnovers. The Lynx struggled with those turnovers early as it left their offense toiling at the beginning of the game. The Fever were taking advantage of these blunders as they were going to the paint hard early. Aliyah Boston led the interior charge as she had eight early points. Napheesa Collier got going to end the quarter as she ended with 10 points, but Kelsey Mitchell’s 12 gave the Fever the 30-25 lead.
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Both teams started sluggishly in the second quarter as Napheesa Collier and Dijonai Carrington shared the floor for the first time. Turnovers still allowed the Fever to keep their lead, but Minnesota kept the pressure up with a 7-0 run that kept the game close. Both teams heated up as they marched to the end of the quarter, but the Lynx were able to take their first lead since the very beginning of the game during this stretch. Minnesota ended the quarter on an 11-0 run and took a 52-45 lead going into halftime. Phee led the way with 14 points as Maria Kliundikova caught fire with 11 points off the bench in the second alone.
It was a very back-and-forth start to the third quarter as the Lynx kicked it off with a quick 5-0 run. Napheesa Collier continued to chug along with nine points as she picked up right where she left off in the first half. There were multiple stoppages during the third as both teams were getting knocked around, and this threw off the rhythm of both squads, which led to the suppressed offense during the frame. Despite the stop-and-go, Minnesota continued growing its lead and held a 13-point advantage going into the last frame.
The Indiana Fever tried to use physical defense to force steals and get back into the game, but it turned into a fouling game as Minnesota got into the bonus early. While there were a few times where it felt like the game may have been teetering, the Lynx stayed composed and finished it off in an uneventful fashion. Win number 30 on the books and an even greater sight of Napheesa Collier helped the Lynx take the 97-84 victory.
MVPhee Not Missing a Beat
Usually, when someone misses multiple weeks due to an injury, it is understandable that they may be a little bit rusty. It usually takes some time to reacclimate to the speed and physicality of the professional game. That is not the case for the best player on the planet.
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Napheesa Collier dominated in her return to action. She scored 32 points on 11/16 from the field while adding nine rebounds and two steals. Every single recap that we have done here at Canis Hoopus could entail us talking about Napheesa Collier’s greatness, but her being able to jump back in with a team playing at this level and add to her MVP performances is yet another special thing that Phee can do. Her skill and fitness cannot be overstated.
2nd Quarter Surge
This game took off for the Lynx in the second quarter. They outscored the Fever 27-15 as they played with high intensity and took care of the ball a bit better than in the first. After trailing by five after the opening quarter, Minnesota turned that into a seven-point lead at the break.
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This swing was fueled by Maria Kliundikova, who scored 11 points in the quarter as Minnesota’s defense suffocated the Fever into bad decisions and poor shooting. Another fun footnote from the second is that Courtney Williams set the record for most assists in a single season on top of the Lynx’s dominant team performance. The ability to put these types of stretches together is a huge reason why they are such a good team. They have the ability to crush a teams spirit and put them away early in the game.
Up Next
The Lynx will host the Seattle Storm on Thursday, August 28, at Target Center as they close in on clinching the number one seed for the WNBA Playoffs. The game begins at 7:00 PM CT, airing on FanDuel Sports Network.
