McBride, Carrington lead Lynx over Liberty in marquee matchup in Brooklyn

Halfway through a stretch of four meetings between last year's WNBA finalists in a three-week span, the Lynx have already exacted plenty of revenge on the defending champions. 11 days after beating the Liberty in a thriller in Minneapolis, the Lynx went to Brooklyn on Sunday and toppled New York again in a marquee matchup on ABC.

Kayla McBride scored 18 points, recent trade acquisition DiJonai Carrington was incredible off the bench in her third game with the Lynx, and Minnesota got key contributions from several others players in an 83-71 victory. 

The Lynx improved their WNBA-best record to 27-5 in the win. They're a full 6.5 games up on the Liberty — who fell to 20-11 — for the top seed in the league. If the Lynx can go 8-4 over the final 12 games of the season, they'll set a new WNBA mark for victories in a single season (albeit with four more games than the 34-6 Las Vegas Aces got to play in 2023).

This was a tight game throughout the first half and into the third quarter. With no Napheesa Collier for the Lynx and no Breanna Stewart for the Liberty, the two teams looked pretty evenly matched early on. The Lynx led 25-24 after an entertaining first quarter, and the Liberty led by two points at halftime after a sloppier second quarter.

But in the second half, the Lynx's depth and talent proved to be too much. They won the third quarter by 11, sparked by a 14-0 run that turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead. One of the catalysts was Carrington, who hit two threes and dished an assist during that run. The Lynx then kept the Liberty from mounting any sort of push in the fourth quarter.

Carrington, acquired from the Dallas Wings a week ago, has fit in perfectly with the Lynx. In 24 minutes off the bench, she had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. She's now scored at least 12 points in all three games since the trade. Carrington's season had been up and down in Dallas, but the former WNBA champion with Connecticut has thrived in the Lynx's system. She's an outstanding defender who can knock down open shots and attack the rim on the offensive end.

In addition to big games from Carrington and McBride (four three-pointers), the Lynx got strong efforts from Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams, and Natisha Hiedeman. Smith stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 9 boards, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. Williams had 14 points and 7 assists, and Hiedeman chipped in 13 off the bench.

On the afternoon, the Lynx shot 49 percent from the field and made 10 threes. Sabrina Ionescu was 4 for 15 from the floor and 0 for 6 from deep for the Liberty, who turned it over 18 times.

These two teams will meet again next Saturday at Target Center. Then they'll wrap up their season series on Tuesday the 19th, back at Barclays Center. Both of those games will be on national TV as well.