Cheryl Reeve suggested that Diamond Miller give her Lynx jersey a subtle pull if she needed a breather at any point in her first game back from a near month-long absence.
What Reeve got instead was the Jordan shrug.
Miller glanced to her coach only moments after she rocked the arena into applause with a nifty step-through finish from an extremely awkward angle, hunching her shoulders as if to say:
“I’m back.”
The No. 2 overall pick seemed to supply enough swag for all who were involved in Minnesota’s 104-93 Tuesday victory over the Seattle Storm at Target Center. The Lynx proved stellar offensively from start to finish, with a flow that looked as good as it has all season.
And they’re now 5-9 because of it.
Napheesa Collier finished with a comfortable game-high 33 points on 11-for-21 shooting with a perfect 9-for-9 mark at the free-throw line. That was nothing new. The extent to which Collier’s supporting cast complemented her play was the difference.
Miller, in her first game back after spraining her right ankle May 30 against Dallas, added an efficient 18 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes, but the notable performances didn’t stop there. All of Reeve’s five starters produced especially well, each of whom ended with double-figure points.
It was just one of those nights for the Lynx — a reality that appeared no clearer than when Rachel Banham launched an off-the-dribble three-pointer that bounced off the back of the rim, aligned with the top of the backboard and still somehow trickled through the bottom of the net.
Everything seemed to fall for the home team, especially early.
Minnesota spotted itself a 15-point advantage after an opening quarter in which starting guards Lindsey Allen and Kayla McBride matched Miller’s activity.
Allen, who notched her fourth start in place of an injured Tiffany Mitchell (left wrist sprain), almost immediately tallied three assists, one of which was a swift chest pass to McBride for the game’s first points. It was a catch-and-shoot three set up by several different screens, a play-call by Reeve that set the tone for her veteran guard who only attempted three field goals last Thursday.
McBride, who tallied 18 points when all was said and done, netted as many threes within a matter of minutes of Tuesday’s 7 p.m. tip-off at Target Center.
Even rookie Dorka Juhasz found some opportunities to score with 10 points, several of which were set up by Allen, Miller and others. The Lynx, who made 41 shots at a 53.2% clip, had 25 assists by game’s end.