Olivia Miles Injury: Lynx Beat Valkyries 77-66 at Chase

The Olivia Miles injury is the only sour note in another Minnesota Lynx win over the Golden State Valkyries. The Associated Press reported Miles scored 20 points with seven assists and five rebounds before leaving midway through the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury, and the WNBA-best Lynx beat Golden State 77-66 on Wednesday night at Chase Center in San Francisco. Kayla McBride also scored 20. Napheesa Collier added 18 points and eight rebounds.

It was a meeting of the league's top teams. The Lynx ran away early, then held on. Miles, Minnesota's standout rookie, shot 8 of 10 from the field before she stepped on Collier's foot and turned the ankle. She limped off, went to the locker room briefly, and returned to the bench. AP did not publish a later diagnosis. The Olivia Miles injury file, as of Wednesday night, stops at the limp and the bench.

Olivia Miles injury and the Lynx win

The Lynx are 30-7. AP said they have won five straight and 15 of 16, and they improved to 11-1 on the road against the Western Conference. McBride hit a late three and did Stephen Curry's “night night” gesture in Curry's building. That is the clip. The standings clip is simpler: Minnesota is still the team nobody in this series has beaten.

The San Francisco Chronicle said the Valkyries entered 0-8 against the Lynx since 2025, including last year's first-round sweep, and that Wednesday made it another loss in the matchup. AP counted seven meetings without a Golden State win and also noted the 2025 playoff sweep. Head coach Natalie Nakase, per the Chronicle, had said this was the one team her group wanted a little more. They did not get it. The Valkyries (25-10) had their six-game winning streak snapped, just their second loss in 17 games, AP reported, two days after clinching a second straight playoff berth with Monday's 78-70 win over Dallas.

How Minnesota pulled away at Chase Center

Golden State started 5 of 27 in front of a sellout crowd, AP said. The Chronicle had them 5-for-21 when a 9-0 Lynx run made it a 15-point game early in the second quarter, and said Minnesota's lead grew as large as 22. AP's half numbers: the Valkyries shot 4 of 17 in the first quarter, missed five of six threes, then began 1 of 12 in the second as the Lynx jumped to 35-18 and led 41-26 at the break. Golden State was 2 of 14 from deep in the first half and 7 of 37 overall. Gabby Williams, the leading scorer, had 10 points on 4-for-15, including 1 of 7 from three.

Janelle Salaün's three with 9:41 left made it 54-44. She added a free throw and a layup with 8:18 remaining to cut it to 54-47. Golden State did not get enough stops after that. Veronica Burton led the Valkyries with 14 points and seven assists. Kaila Charles left in the fourth after a hit to the eye. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert had announced Tuesday that Chase Center and the Valkyries will host the 2027 All-Star Game. The building was loud. The shot chart was not.

What the Olivia Miles injury means next

Minnesota visits Washington on Friday. Golden State visits Chicago on Friday, per AP. The Lynx can absorb one awkward night if Miles is available. If the Olivia Miles injury lingers, the best team in the WNBA just took a hit in a game it already had under control. The Valkyries still have not solved this matchup. They also just watched Minnesota's rookie leave limping. Both of those things can be true on the same Wednesday.