Napheesa Collier scores 31 points, Lynx clinch playoff berth with win vs Fever and honor Maya Moore
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 31 points and Kayla McBride scored eight of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to help the Minnesota Lynx clinch a playoff berth with a 90-80 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Saturday night.
Minnesota (22-8), which beat the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-74 on Friday, has won six games in a row, including five straight by double figures since returning from the Olympic break.
Clark, the No. 1 pick in the draft, led Indiana (13-16) with 23 points and eight assists and became the fastest player in league history (29 games) to score at least 500 points (520) and record 200 assists (240).
Bridget Carleton hit a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a 10-point lead with 7:49 left before Lexie Hull sandwiched a pair of layups around a 3-pointer to cut Indiana’s deficit to 72-69 with 6:16 left.
McBride answered with a jumper and then added two 3-pointers in a 14-2 run that pushed the lead to 15 points with 3:23 remaining.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points for the Fever. Aliyah Boston added 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Carleton hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points for Minnesota. Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman added 10 points apiece.
The Lynx hosted a jersey retirement ceremony for Maya Moore Irons’ No. 23 immediately following the game, which had a record crowd of more than 19,000 at the Target Center. She joins Seimone Augustus (No. 33), Rebekkah Brunson (No. 32), Sylvia Fowles (No. 34) and Lindsay Whalen (No. 13) as the only players in franchise history to receive the honor.
Moore Irons — Clark’s favorite player growing up — helped the Lynx win four WNBA championships. She earned 2014 MVP and the 2013 Finals MVP awards. The 2011 Rookie of the Year out of UConn, Moore Irons was a six-time All-Star, earning All-Star Game MVP honors three times.
The 35-year-old Moore played her last WNBA game in 2018. She helped work for the release of Jonathan Irons, whose conviction on a burglary and assault charge was overturned in 2020. She and Irons, who work with Win for Justice, married and have a son.
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