The Minnesota Lynx left Chicago with a win and wanted to continue that winning play against the Fever in Indiana. Tonight the Lynx were able to get Dorka Juhasz back in the lineup which is a huge help. The Lynx quickly ran into a situation where the Fever were just capitalizing off of every mistake and made them pay in the paint. Overall the Indiana Fever had 5 players that were in double figures for the game (Boston, Mitchell, Wheeler, Wallace, and Smith). The Fever came with a well balanced attack but it was led by the paint play of Aliyah Boston who was able to establish her presence in the paint with 13 rebounds. Boston showcased her complete game tonight as she was able to block 3 shots to add to that as well. The Fever outrebounded the Lynx 39-26 on the night and when you can’t rebound that’s not a good sign for success. Kelsey Mitchell was on one tonight as she finished with 24 points but it seemed like every time the Lynx were getting closer and closer Mitchell hit a big shot. When Mitchell has her game going and Boston has her game going it’s tough to beat this Fever team especially when they have confidence like this at a high level. The points in the paint differential was the huge piece in this game (34-18) and it proved to impact the game in a major way. The Fever just played like they wanted it tonight but that doesn’t mean that they’re the better team. The Lynx have proven time and time again that they have what it takes to compete and win so this game was just an off night.
In positive news for the Minnesota Lynx it was good to get Rachel Banham back in the mix. She was able to come off the bench and give the team a spark instantly. On the night Rachel finished with a team high of 18 points and she was able to showcase her elite shooting ability. The Lynx didn’t have it going tonight as a whole but they continue to bounce back. Napheesa Collier and Lindsay Allen were both in foul trouble and the Fever made the most of that moment. The easy thing to say is that it’s the next person up but tonight the energy just didn’t match what the Lynx needed to win. The Lynx had 4 players in double figures but they just weren’t able to establish themselves in the paint after Jessica Shepard’s great first half of scoring. This team is elite and great teams make some hiccups against teams that have lower records. The Lynx don’t play until Friday and will have some time to sit on this loss. The Lynx will be heading to Seattle to face Jewel Lloyd and the Storm as they look to get back into the win column like we all expect them to do.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
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