Olivia Miles sets WNBA rookie 3-point record in Lynx’s 87-84 win over Valkyries

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Olivia Miles scored a career-high 28 points and set a WNBA rookie record with eight 3-pointers, and the Minnesota Lynx held off the Golden State Valkyries 87-84 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.

Miles was 8 of 11 from 3-point range to surpass Caitlin Clark and Crystal Robinson, who shared the previous rookie mark with seven. The No. 2 overall draft pick made her fifth straight 3 with 6:24 remaining in the first half to reach 17 points, while the rest of her teammates had just 14. She also made her first two 3s of the third quarter.

Minnesota (8-2) improved to 7-0 all-time against Golden State, which joined the league last an expansion team last season.

The Lynx trailed 75-70 with seven minutes remaining before scoring the next 11 points.

After Golden State pulled within 86-84 with 33.8 seconds left, Courtney Williams dribbled down the clock before finding Miles, who attempted a driving layup that rolled off the rim. But the Lynx grabbed the offensive rebound and Williams went 1 of 2 at the foul line for a three-point lead with 5.4 seconds left.

An inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball that Golden State forward Cecilia Zandalasini secured with 3.8 seconds left. After a timeout, Zandalasini did not hit the rim on a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Williams finished with 17 points, Kayla McBride added 14 and Natasha Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. The Lynx went 13 of 26 from distance.

Zandalasini led Golden State (6-4) with 18 points. Janelle Salaun had five 3-pointers and 17 points, and Tiffany Hayes added 15.

FEVER 83, DREAM 71

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 11 straight points during a third-quarter run Thursday night and finished with 25 points to help defending Commissioner’s Cup champion Indiana open this season’s tournament with a victory over Atlanta.

Aliyah Boston added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks while Caitlin Clark had 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Mitchell was 11 of 15 from the field and joined the WNBA’s 5,000-point club.

The victory capped an emotional week for Indiana, which included questions about a sideline spat between Clark and coach Stephanie White during last weekend’s loss at Portland. The Fever had a team meeting on Monday.

Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada each scored 13 points for the Dream. Naz Hillmon added 12 points, and Angel Reese, Clark’s college rival, finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Canada also had seven assists.

The difference for Indiana was defense. It entered the game allowing 89 points per contest but gave up a season-low point total against the Dream, the team the Fever eliminated from last year’s playoffs.

Mitchell’s third-quarter burst swung the game for good after Atlanta charged back from a 38-29 halftime deficit to take a 43-42 lead on Hillmon’s 3-pointer with 6:15 left in the quarter.

White called timeout and when play resumed, Boston’s block led to an easy basket. Clark followed with her second 3-pointer of the game to make it 47-43 and Mitchell converted Lexie Hull’s block into a layup, starting her 11-point flurry that extended the margin to 58-43.