Kayla McBride leads Lynx past Fire on five-game streak
Kayla McBride scored a game-high 24 points as the Minnesota Lynx beat the Portland Fire 101-93 on July 18 at Target Center, extending their win streak to five. The first-place Lynx (20-6) streamed on Victory+, tipped at 7 p.m. CT, and wore Heroine Edition jerseys.
Key Takeaways
- Kayla McBride poured in 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and has scored 20-plus in six straight games.
- Minnesota never trailed in a 101-93 win that stretched its streak to five and kept the Lynx atop the WNBA at 20-6.
- The contest streamed on Victory+, tipped at 7 p.m. CT (5 p.m. PDT) from Target Center, with Lynx in Heroine Edition jerseys.
- Olivia Miles posted a 14-point, 10-assist double-double; Bridget Carleton led Portland with 22 points and eight rebounds.
- Napheesa Collier remained out with ankle issues; Portland listed Megan Gustafson and Holly Winterburn out for personal reasons and Karlie Samuelson doubtful with a finger injury.
What looked like another clean home win on the scoreboard still left coach Cheryl Reeve uneasy. Minnesota smothered early leads into a full-game advantage, yet Portland shot 48.1% from the field—among the highest marks any opponent has posted against the Lynx this season. Fans hunting highlights of Kayla McBride’s July surge still got a night worth replaying.
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How did Kayla McBride and the Lynx beat Portland?
According to the Pioneer Press game report, Minnesota never let the Fire take the lead. Portland hung around—trailing by as little as three in the middle of the third—before the Lynx seized control with a 22-point burst to open the fourth and push ahead 75-60.
Kayla McBride finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The 13-year pro has scored 20 or more in each of her past six games, reached double figures in all but two contests this season, and was only two games removed from a 37-point outburst against Phoenix—her best scoring night in six seasons in a Lynx uniform.
Natasha Howard went 7-of-8 for 16 points and seven rebounds, a season-best 87.5% from the field. Olivia Miles added 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting and a game-high 10 assists for her second career double-double. Bench big Dorka Juhász logged 21 impactful minutes with 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting in her ongoing return from earlier foot and knee setbacks.
Bridget Carleton, the former Lynx standout taken No. 1 by Portland in the expansion draft, paced the Fire with 22 points and eight boards on her second trip back to Target Center. Napheesa Collier, still sidelined after surgeries to both ankles, called Carleton’s rise bittersweet but said she was happy to see her former teammate blossoming as a franchise player in Portland.
What time was tip-off and how could fans stream Lynx vs Fire?
The Minnesota Lynx official preview listed tip-off for Saturday, July 18, at 7:00 p.m. CT at Target Center, with a live stream on Victory+ (restrictions apply). Blazer’s Edge mirrored the window for West Coast viewers at 5:00 p.m. PDT and framed the matchup as a road test for Portland (then 11-14) against first-place Minnesota (then 19-6).
Entering the night, the Lynx had won four straight, while the Fire arrived off a 75-56 road win over the Washington Mystics. After the final horn, Minnesota sat at 20-6 atop the league with a five-game winning streak and a completed four-game homestand.
Jersey watchers got the Heroine Edition look from Minnesota, per the team’s how-to-watch note. That visual, plus McBride’s mid-range and perimeter attack, gave recap clips an easy star to center on for social highlight packages.
Who was on the injury report for Minnesota and Portland?
Minnesota’s current status report before tip listed Emma Cechova out with a knee injury and Napheesa Collier out with an ankle injury. Collier’s absence has been a season-long theme after ankle surgeries, even as the Lynx keep winning.
Portland’s availability was thinner. The Lynx preview had Sania Feagin out (knee), Megan Gustafson out (personal reasons), Holly Winterburn out (personal reasons), and Karlie Samuelson doubtful with a finger injury. Blazer’s Edge independently flagged Gustafson and Winterburn as out for personal reasons and Samuelson as doubtful with the finger issue—confirming the Fire were shorthanded against the league leaders.
Juhász’s minutes mattered in that context. After a mid-foot strain during the EuroLeague Women’s Basketball Finals in April—and a brief July return interrupted by a right-knee setback—Reeve praised her aggression and called the performance a “big lift.”
Why does Kayla McBride’s July form matter for the Lynx streak?
Reeve called the defensive showing an embarrassment by her standards even in victory. The Fire went 0-for-5 from three in the first quarter, then heated up to 13-of-25 the rest of the way and finished 43.3% from deep after connecting on their first triple. Portland attempts the third-most threes in the league and averages 34.2% from beyond the arc, so the late-game rain was not a fluke profile.
Minnesota opened the year with the best defensive rating in the WNBA but has ranked seventh over its last 10 games and 12th over its last five. Reeve said the group is outscoring people and will take wins, yet warned that formula is “not a recipe for long-term success or success at the highest level.”
That is why Kayla McBride’s consistency is the stabilizing headline. When defense dips, her six-game 20-point streak and near-nightly double-figure floor give Minnesota a reliable offensive face. Next up for the Lynx is a “baseball”-style back-to-back in Seattle against the Storm (6-21)—9 p.m. CDT Monday and 2 p.m. Wednesday—before Miles, Howard, and Courtney Williams head to Chicago for WNBA All-Star festivities.
For viewers who caught Victory+ live or are catching up now, the storyline is simple: first place held, the streak hit five, and Kayla McBride again set the tone.