Kayla McBride scored 24 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 96-87 on Wednesday. However, while the Lynx took care of business, concern was raised by an ankle injury to rookie Olivia Miles.

Miles rolled her left ankle after colliding with Rae Burrell midway through the fourth quarter, with Minnesota leading 79-74. She walked into the tunnel under her own power. Before exiting, she had already totaled 18 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals without a turnover in 26 minutes.

Miles returned to the bench shortly after and even participated in the team's postgame dance celebration with a slight limp, though Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve did not have an update to share with the media about Miles' status going forward.

"Of course not," Reeve said when asked if she had any information on Miles' condition.

McBride said the team's approach didn't change once Miles went down.

"We just didn't panic. We've been in those situations so many times over the last couple of years," McBride said. "We obviously wanted to make sure Liv was okay, but it was also, 'All right, let's lock in. Let's do what we've got to do. Let's get everybody on board and finish the game.'"

McBride scored 10 of her 24 points after Miles left, including a crucial 3-pointer with Nia Coffey to secure the victory. This marked her fifth consecutive game with 20 or more points and her eighth of the season. Meanwhile, Courtney Williams, now handling more point guard responsibilities because of Minnesota's limited rotation, contributed 19 points and four assists.

Los Angeles led 18-12 in the first quarter before Minnesota responded with a 14-2 run to go up 26-20. The Sparks finished the half ahead, 39-37. Los Angeles pushed the lead to nine points early in the third before the Lynx clawed all the way back to lead 68-67 entering the fourth, then outscored the Sparks 28-20 in the final period to close it out. Natasha Howard nearly posted a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, adding three steals and a team-high eight deflections as part of a defense that finished with more than 30 for the game. Reeve said Howard's fingerprints were all over the win even when her shot wasn't falling.

"She missed a couple easy shots around the basket, but she affected winning in so many other ways. Her passing was excellent with six assists," Reeve said. "We rely heavily on Tasha, whether she's scoring in pick-and-roll or contributing in all the other areas."

Nneka Ogwumike scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, tying Lisa Leslie for the most points in Sparks franchise history at 6,263 and passing Tamecka Dixon for fourth all time in assists with her five. She said the milestone felt bittersweet without a win to go with it.

"Lisa is getting a statue, so being able to continue carrying the legacy that she really built here in L.A., it's always an honor," Ogwumike said. "It could have been under better circumstances getting the win, but I do feel like we're playing more like what L.A. should be playing like."

Burrell scored 24 points, tying her career high, going 6-for-6 from free throws. Cameron Brink, back after June 15 and limited in minutes, scored 10 points.

The Sparks felt turnovers were a clear area that needed improvement going forward, making the margin for error too narrow to overcome against Minnesota.

"Minnesota is 19-6 for a reason. Credit to them, they're a really good team," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "We didn't help ourselves out with the turnovers, and that hurt us today. But overall, we're just playing better basketball. We're right there with these top teams, and it was great to have Cameron back. She provided a spark for us."

Minnesota will play against the Portland Fire on Saturday, while Los Angeles heads to Chicago to face the Sky on Friday.