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Lynx’s bench combined for 50 points in 95-71 win, hand Mercury fourth straight loss

© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Minnesota Lynx’s bench production exploded as they combined for 50 points to help beat the Phoenix Mercury 95-71 on Friday night in Minneapolis.

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Alissa Pili, the eighth overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, dropped a career-high 20 points from 7-of-9 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from three for the Lynx (5-2). Napheesa Collier recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Kahleah Copper scored 21 points and Diana Taurasi added 14 in the Mercury’s (3-5) fourth consecutive loss.

Lynx Get Hot Early, Keep Momentum to Roll Over Mercury

After almost two scoreless minutes to begin the ballgame, the Lynx went on a 13-2 run with Smith pitching in with five points.

Not stopping there, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve went to her bench to rest her starters and they torched the Mercury in the second frame. 23 of the 34 points the Lynx scored came from subs as Pili had eight.

“Yeah, we got to start off stronger,” Sophie Cunningham said about slow starts to games. “We got to weather the storms inside the game. I know we don’t have BG [Brittney Griner], we don’t have Bec [Rebecca Allen] but we do have all we need, just have to start off stronger. Gotta take care of the ball, we gotta move on offense. Defensively we got to bring that energy, we gotta talk.”

Phoenix was running into troubles stopping Minnesota from three, with the Lynx firing at a scorching 5-of-7 (71.4%) clip in the second quarter, The consistent issue of turnovers for the Mercury traveled into Minneapolis by giving away possession eight times in the first half, seeing them trail 55-31.

But coming out of halftime with a jolt, the Mercury elevated the levels of hustle and energy to fight back. Phoenix was more aggressive in the paint, collecting 10 offensive rebounds in the third that led to 12 second-chance points. In comparison, the Mercury had zero in the first two quarters combined.

“I thought the second half we responded and came out and played the way we all expected to start the game,” Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts said. “For whatever reason, we were not ready in the first half. I got to do a better job of getting us ready to play. We responded but unfortunately, it is a tough road ahead when you’re not ready. I like what I saw in the second half, there was more of the Mercury style of basketball that we want to play.”

Beginning 0-for-5 in the first quarter, Copper scored 21 points as she was trying to get her team back into the game, but the damage Minnesota inflicted put a major dent in a possible comeback attempt.

The Mercury turned the ball over 17 times on the night, leading to 25 points conceded the other way. In contrast, Minnesota kept their ball possession and playmaking relatively clean with just seven turnovers.

To add to an impressive streak in franchise history, the Lynx improved to 153-7 when holding an opponent under 40% shooting from the field. Phoenix shot 24-for-62 (38.7%).

“We were more inside of our heads than anything,” Mercury center Natasha Mack said. “We can give out all of the excuses. Sickness running through [the team], everybody is tired on the road but we really brought it upon ourselves. The Lynx had okay defense, but it was mainly losing our heads.”

Next Games

Mercury: Home vs. Los Angeles Sparks (2-5) | June 2 | 3 p.m. PT

Lynx: Home vs. Dallas Wings (3-2) | June 2 | 4 p.m. PT

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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini

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