Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points while NaLyssa Smith and Aliyah Boston each recorded double-doubles Friday night as the Indiana Fever nipped the Minnesota Lynx 71-69 in Minneapolis.

Mitchell’s three-point play with 1:54 left gave Indiana (2-5) a 67-66 lead. Smith converted a layup on the next possession for a three-point advantage, and Erica Wheeler sank two foul shots to make it 71-66 at the 1:03 mark.

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier drained a 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining to cut the deficit to two points. After the Fever turned the ball over, the Lynx (1-7) had two shots on their next possession. However, Kayla McBride couldn’t hit a 3-point attempt and Collier misfired on a pullup jumper.

Wheeler was fouled and missed two foul shots with 4.8 seconds on the clock, but Minnesota couldn’t get off a shot before time expired.

Smith finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Boston added 10 points and 11 boards. Wheeler also contributed 10 points.

Collier pumped in a game-high 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while McBride scored 11 but made only 3 of 9 attempts from the field. The Lynx canned just 38.1 percent of their field-goal tries, while the Fever made 40.6 percent.

As might befit a matchup of teams that entered with a combined 2-11 record, both started slowly. Neither team got to double figures until Mitchell canned a 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the first quarter. Indiana took a 16-14 edge after Boston converted a layup with 6.2 seconds remaining in the opening period.

Neither team led by more than five in a tightly contested second quarter. Minnesota’s 30-25 cushion was quickly erased as the Fever went on an 11-4 surge over the last 3:44, getting a pullup jumper from Wheeler on their last possession to earn a 36-34 advantage at the break.

The score was tied 46-46 late in the third quarter before the Lynx got back-to-back 3-pointers from McBride and Rachel Banham, and a layup from Collier that gave them a 55-51 edge going to the fourth period.

–Field Level Media