Shorthanded Aces hold off Lynx down stretch

LAS VEGAS – Liz Cambage had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Kayla McBride added 20 points and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Lynx 79-74 on Sunday.

Playing without injured leading scorer A'ja Wilson, and in front of a crowd at Mandalay Bay Events Center that included 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell watching courtside, the Aces (12-6) took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter and never relinquished it, winning for the sixth time in seven games. The teams were tied 54-54 after three quarters.

"We didn't get a stop when we needed to, and obviously they are really good defensively," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Our offense was hard to come by.

"They pounded inside and got a bunch of calls. We didn't have the same presence tonight. Unfortunately, we weren't able to match their inside presence."

The Lynx (10-9) pulled within a point with 4 minutes, 41 seconds left on Odyssey Sims' three-point play, but Kelsey Plum and McBride, who was 3-for-7 on three-pointers, followed with layups before Cambage made a turnaround jump shot for a 73-66 lead.

Sims led the Lynx with 19 points, shooting 8-for-16. Minnesota shot 45.6% overall but only 4-for-14 on three-pointers.

"She's one of our best players," Reeve said of Sims. "Vegas has their best players performing. Odyssey did what she's supposed to do."

"We just have to play hard and clean up some things," Sims said. "We know what we have to do, focus on it, and get better for the next game."