INDIANAPOLIS – Napheesa Collier scored nine of her 26 points in the third quarter, Bridget Carleton sank three 3-pointers in the final four minutes and the Minnesota Lynx erased a 25-point lead from Caitlin Clark to end Indiana’s five-game winning streak with a 99-88 victory over the Fever on Friday night.
The Lynx trailed 50-45 at halftime before Collier scored nine of her first 20 points in the third quarter to take a 65-57 lead.
Collier blocked Clark’s shot in the box and Courtney Williams made a free throw at the other end to extend Minnesota’s lead to 70-60. Clark was benched and Myisha Hines-Allen scored the next three points, giving Minnesota a 13-point lead.
Indiana scored only three field goals in the third quarter, but then came back into the game with three goals in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Fever trailed 81-80 before Carleton sank a three-pointer from the corner. She added a three-pointer from the free throw line to make it 87-80 and grabbed an offensive rebound on the Lynx’s next possession that led to Williams’ three-pointer.
Carleton’s third 3-pointer of the period gave Minnesota a 96-85 lead.
Clark, who recorded her second career triple-double on Wednesday, continued her record-setting season for Indiana (18-17). She hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to become the franchise leader for made 3-pointers in a single season, passing Kelsey Mitchell (102). Clark hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and made 107 this season.
Mitchell added 23 and Aliyah Boston scored 20 for Indiana. Mitchell has scored over 20 points for the eighth time in her last nine games.
Carleton scored 16 points for Minnesota (25-9). Williams added 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, reaching over 1,500 points in her career. Collier also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Carleton closed the first half with a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left on a nice pass from Hines-Allen. Then the Lynx scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take a 52-50 lead, their first since a 7-6 loss.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
