Minnesota’s fell into an early 14-point hole and despite another inhuman performance by Napheesa Collier and a wild final minute of the game, they couldn’t quite battle back.
Game Story
The Minnesota Lynx entered the night sporting a perfect 14-0 record at home this season. A demolition of the Las Vegas Aces 48 hours earlier brought good vibes into this one, but the visiting Atlanta Dream were up to the task. Despite not having All-Star Rhyne Howard in the line-up due to a lingering knee injury, Atlanta arrived to Target Center well-rested thanks to three straight rest days.
Their energy was on display with their aggressive ball pressure right out of the gates.
They forced Minnesota into 10 first half turnovers, leading to 11 Dream points. Brittney Griner anchored their defense in the paint, forcing the Lynx into uncharacteristic mid-range jumpers that were often off the mark. Meanwhile on offense, Griner was simply unstoppable. In the nine-time All-Star’s first meeting against Minnesota a month ago, she scored 16 points.
Griner usurped that total with 17 points in the first half.
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Minnesota saw a three point first quarter deficit swell up to 14 by halftime due to a late 12-2 Dream run. President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Cheryl Reeve was certainly unhappy with her team’s lack of execution on the defensive end. Their help side rotations were often late or just not tight enough. They allowed Atlanta to shoot over 60% from the field after the first 20 minutes of play.
Reeve would get her message across to her team in the locker room.
The defensive execution got turned on it’s head to open the second half. The Lynx forced Atlanta into turnovers and tough looks, forcing them to shoot just 25% in the third period. Most notably, Diamond Miller got an early sub for a struggling Bridget Carleton. Her energy absolutely resuscitated Minnesota back to life. She spurred a 11-2 run which sliced the Dream advantage down to just three with 1:29 left in the third.
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
It wouldn’t take long for the Dream’s head coach, Karl Smesko, to reinsert Griner to establish order. She was able to keep the Lynx at arm’s length due to her gravity in the paint, playing an inside-out offense. Her presence seemingly stunned the Lynx, allowing Atlanta to pour in 14 points in less than three minutes into the final quarter.
The Dream’s role players aggressively pushed the pace in a way that the Lynx just could not match.
In the blink of an eye, they stared down the barrel of yet another double-digit deficit early in the fourth. It wasn’t necessarily a matter of Minnesota not scoring. They were scoring plenty. It was just their lack of ability to maintain their defensive intensity from the third quarter. Every non-Griner named Dream player looked like they were shot out of a cannon and completely unafraid of a usually frightening Lynx defense.
Minnesota didn’t quit on the game. They were mostly just playing the foul game in the final minute of the game, but a frenzy of wild jump balls and Atlanta fumbles allowed them to somehow get as close as 3 points with 8.1 seconds left to play. Unfortunately, they had fallen behind by too much too early and they never got a chance to tie the game.
Napheesa Collier is doing everything she can to try to complete the #Lynx comeback, my goodness #WNBA
— Danielle H (@danielleceltics.bsky.social) 2025-07-28T01:16:18.895Z
They ultimately allowed the Dream to shoot 70.6% from the field, including a number of tough fadeaway daggers.
It’s hard to call this a disappointing loss, considering the quality of opponent, rest disadvantage, and final score. However, it’s surely not a great feeling for the Lynx who had their 14-0 home record now blemished. They still have a number of high-quality, tough opponents ahead of them so they’ll need to move forward immediately.
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Quick Hits
- It’s quite laughable how good Napheesa Collier is. Despite the loss, she was outstanding and posted a final stat line of 32 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. All on measly 14 of 18 shooting. MVPHee.
32 points for Napheesa Collier in a loss to the Dream (first at home for the Lynx this season), the highlight reel from FDSN
- Alanna Smith had a tough time limiting Griner and Brionna Jones on defense. She was a team-worst -14 and added a minor left ankle roll in the final minutes of the game. Smith limped off into the locker room, but was able to return to the bench.
- Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton combined for 2 points on 1 of 12 shooting. They’ve both gone through shooting slumps this season, but rarely do you see them both struggle in the same game. The latter saw just 16 minutes of action. Better days are ahead, but they certainly hurt the Lynx tonight.
- Natisha Hiedeman had a nice offensive spurt to start the final quarter, immediately scoring seven points, but gave it all back on defense. Reeve was not thrilled.
- You have to tip your cap to the Dream’s role players. Naz Hillmon was her usual self, a thorn in her opponents sides thanks to her energy and hustle. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough went a perfect 4 of 4 from the field, mostly hurting the Lynx at the start of the fourth. Jordin Canada commanded the offense well, consistently getting paint touches and breaking down the defense. She sealed the game with final free throw make as well.
Highlights
Box Score
Up Next
The Lynx will wrap up their four-game home stand after two rest days. They host the New York Liberty on Wednesday, July 30th at 7:00 PM CT, marking their first match since the controversial game seven of the WNBA Finals a year ago.
The Liberty have hovered in second place in the standings for much of the season, dealing with some injury woes. Former league MVP Jonquel Jones had just returned to their rotation, but New York saw another former MVP in Breanna Stewart go down with a leg injury on Saturday. She is traveling with the team in their next games, but her status remains unclear for Wednesday’s tilt.