Lynx hold off Sky, Angel Reese 79-74 to bounce back from a defeat

After the Lynx had finally beaten the Chicago Sky 79-74 on Sunday at Target Center, after she had essentially pulled her team across the finish line, Courtney Williams was asked about her play down the stretch.

"I mean, they was going under every screen," Williams said. "They going to give me the shot, I'm going to take it."

She makes it sound so simple.

With the score tied and just under 8 minutes left, Williams hit back-to-back jumpers. Her specialty — both midrange. The first from 21 feet, the second from 18. In the final 7:23, Williams shot 5-for-6 from the floor, scoring 10 points in her team's 17-12 run to finish the game. She made 11 of 16 shots overall, the most makes and her highest shooting percentage (68.8%) of the season.

The rest of the Lynx shot 38%.

"It was great," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Just putting her in simple action, just simplified it. Let her play-make. … And then Court kind of taking command of things."

The Lynx (24-9) bounced back from Friday's one-sided loss at Dallas. The Sky (11-21) lost their sixth game in a row and for the 10th time in 13 games.

But not without a fight. The Lynx were without center Alanna Smith, who hurt her left ankle Friday. That left the Lynx shorthanded in the post against the WNBA's best rebounding team.

The Sky had 38 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end. Rookie Angel Reese had 19 of those, seven on the offensive end, to go with 17 points. She passed former Lynx star Sylvia Fowles (404 in 2018) to become the league's all-time single-season rebounding leader (418). Fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso had 22 points and nine boards for Chicago.

The biggest stat of the day might have been the Lynx's 27-10 edge on points off turnovers.

Still, the Lynx just couldn't seem to shake the Sky.

Down 13 points in the third, Chicago put together an 18-5 run to tie the score on Diamond DeShields' basket with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter.

The Lynx were struggling. All-Star Napheesa Collier (15 points) would finish the game shooting 6-for-19. The team took 22 three-point attempts but made only five.

BOXSCORE: Lynx 79, Chicago 74

WNBA standings

But then the Sky went under a few screens, and Williams took over.

"I'm glad she's on my team instead of having to guard her on the pick-and-roll," said Kayla McBride, who scored 17 points for the Lynx. "That's just who she is. She's a hooper. She loves to take the big shots. And her midrange is deadly."

Bridget Carleton hit a three-pointer with 5:40 left, her only three of the game, to put the Lynx ahead 69-64. From there, the teams went back and forth until Dorka Juhász — who started for Smith — scored to put the Lynx up 75-68 with 3:36 minutes left. Reese was called for an offensive foul, then Williams hit a 20-footer to put the Lynx up nine.

At one point late during a timeout, Reeve and Williams fist-bumped near the bench. Reeve said her message was for Williams to get ready to make clutch free throws down the stretch.

"I thought she dapped me up 'cause I was making shots," Williams said.

The Lynx are the fifth WNBA team Williams has played for in her nine seasons. She was part of a crucial offseason that saw both her and Smith sign in Minnesota as free agents. In friendly postgame banter, Reeve talked about Williams deserving to be regarded as one of the league's best guards. Williams talked about finding a true home.

"I love it here, man," Williams said. "I love the fans, the coaching staff, all my teammates. Thank you, coach, for coming to get me."