Minnesota Lynx at Washington Mystics

Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles lead Lynx to 78-76 win over Mystics

Kayla McBride made five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points for the Lynx (14-4).

Miles hit a step-back jumper that cut Minnesota’s deficit to a point with 3:32 to play. After a Mystics timeout, the Lynx forced a shot-clock violation before Miles fed Howard for a wide-open layup that made it 72-71 — Minnesota’s first lead since 17-16 — and hit a 3 with 1:07 remaining that made it 78-74.

McBride hit the last of her four first-half 3-pointers with 1.1 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 40-all at halftime, but the Lynx made just 3 of 16 (19%) from the field in the third and trailed 65-53 with seven minutes to play.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve has 378 career wins, one behind Mike Thibault for most in WNBA history.

Washington (8-8) had won their last three.

Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Kiki Iriafen had 13 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth double-double this season, and Shakira Austin added 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Washington beat the Lynx 84-79 in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Up next Lynx: Visit Dallas on Sunday.

Mystics: Play Friday at Connecticut.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1