Lynx outshoot Sky 88-79 behind Napheesa Collier's 29 points and Jessica Shepard's 17

The Lynx went to Chicago on Tuesday to play one of the hottest teams in the WNBA.

The Sky had won three in a row, scoring 104 points in every game, hitting better than 52% of their shots, canning 38 of 71 three-pointers.

Juggernaut.

Or naut.

Playing tough on defense, incredibly connected on offense, the Lynx never trailed in an 88-79 victory.

It wasn't as easy as that might sound. But, in the face of a Sky run that made the game a bit uncomfortable in the closing minutes, the Lynx closed it out

"It was close,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "We were teetering. But we didn't break.''

Collier was, at times, unstoppable. Like when she scored 11 consecutive Lynx points early in the third quarter. Or when she and Kayla McBride (17 points) combined for 12 of Minnesota's 23 fourth-quarter points. Reeve said after the game that McBride — who had a game-high seven assists — at one point joked that all she was going to do was pass Collier the ball.

Good plan.

"Phee was terrific,'' Reeve said.

Said Collier: "I haven't been as efficient as I've wanted to be [lately]. I pride myself on being efficient. It felt good to have a good night tonight. It was a confidence boost.''

This was a full-team win, though. Chicago (12-16) entered the game having shot 52.2% while winning three in a row. Tuesday they shot 42.1%. The Lynx (14-15) — who moved into sixth place in the WNBA — had a 21-4 edge on points from the free-throw line and outrebounded Chicago 37-28. Yes, Chicago hit another 11 threes. But Minnesota's first-shot defense was good, and the free-throw edge was too much to overcome.

That was enough to slow the Sky, which had four of five starters in double figures, led by Kahleah Copper's 23.

"We wanted to approach this like a playoff game,'' Shepard said. "Teams will always go on runs. We just had to stop bleeding. To come in and get this tough road win, it's a big step for us.''

Shepard's layup put Minnesota up 12 with 3:01 left. Over the next 2 minutes the Sky scored eight in a row to pull within four on Copper's drive with 1:02 left.

Chicago didn't score again. Lindsay Allen made two free throws with 23 seconds left, Collier two more with 16.1 left.

"They were all aware of what was available,'' Reeve said. "We were making great reads. We weren't panicking at the end of [shot] clocks. They were locked in.''