Lynx hand Aces 3rd straight loss

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Alanna Smith scored 18 points, Kayla McBride had 16 points and eight assists, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Las Vegas Aces 100-86 on Tuesday night.

All five starters for Minnesota (9-3) scored in double figures. Bridget Carleton and Courtney Williams each scored 15 points, and Napheesa Collier had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Las Vegas (5-5) lost for the third straight game — for its worst 10-game start to a season since 2018.

Alysha Clark, Megan Gustafson and Kelsey Plum each made two 3-pointers in the first quarter as Las Vegas built a 31-29 lead. But the Aces only scored 29 combined points over the next two quarters to trail 78-60 entering the fourth.

Minnesota's 20-point, fourth-quarter lead was trimmed to 86-74 with 4:39 remaining but the Aces didn't make their next field goal until the 1:46 mark.

A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 28 points to extend her WNBA record by scoring at least 20 points in 15 straight games. Plum scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half. Jackie Young, who has been battling an illness, was held to single digits for the second straight game.

Carleton made a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.5 seconds left before halftime to extend Minnesota’s lead to 59-48.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball