In the second matchup of the season featuring the top two picks from the spring’s WNBA draft, Olivia Miles once again proved she reigns supreme.
That case appears to be open and shut. Where exactly she slots into the overall league hierachy is worthy of debate.
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The way Miles controlled Sunday’s 85-77 Lynx victory over Dallas, and conducted Minnesota’s end-of-game offense, is something that can’t be replicated by many.
Miles scored 21 points — her seventh time eclipsing the 20-point mark in the past 10 games — to go with eight assists in the win. The Lynx won Miles’ 34 minutes by 13 points, tying teammate Natasha Howard for a game-high in plus-minus.
Howard finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
“We were moving the ball,” Howard said during the on-court, postgame television interview regarding her success Sunday. “And then I think our defense helped us out, and it helped me out, as well. I kind of struggled in the first half, but my teammates believed in me, and they kept giving me the ball.”
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Miles, specifically. Three of Howard’s nine made buckets came via assists from the rookie point guard, including the pass of the game. With a minute to play and the Lynx (15-4) leading by nine, Miles threaded a dime between a couple of Wings defenders in a pick-and-roll action for an open Howard layup to seal the game. After which, the guard thumped her chest and smiled before retreating to the bench.
In the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of action Sunday, the No. 2 overall pick conducted a fast break that led to a bucket, while tallying that assist, a steal and a couple of made free throws to close the door on Dallas.
Top overall pick Azzi Fudd scored 21 points, but she did so on 8-for-23 shooting.
More comparable to Miles is the impact Hopkins native Paige Bueckers had on the game. She finished with an efficient 23 points, along with a bevy of other contributions.
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Bueckers is one of the best players in basketball. Miles reflects that at the moment.
Minnesota held Dallas to 38% shooting and led by as many as 23 points midway through the third frame. The Wings (11-8) clawed back to as close as four on a Bueckers bucket with 5:15 to play.
But Howard scored eight points over the next two and a half minutes to stem the Wings’ tide, while noting the Lynx reapplyed the defensive aggression with which they opened the game.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was on the sidelines for the game, one day after she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Sunday’s victory marked regular season win No. 379 for Reeve, tying her with Mike Thibault for the WNBA’s all-time mark.
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Reeve has a chance to claim sole possession of the record on Friday in New York, when Minnesota plays the Liberty.
“She a GOAT. She’s been doing it for a long time,” Howard said. “She knows what she’s doing, and she’s one of the best coaches in the league.”
