The Dallas Wings started Thursday’s home game against the Lynx with a big chip on their collective shoulder, but without forward Satou Sabally, who was injured late in Minnesota’s win at Target Center on Tuesday.

The ensuing controversy — fans being ejected for taunting Sabally, who sprained her ankle, Sabally ripping the fans on social media after the game — promised to make this rematch emotional.

It was.

It was a lot of other things, too. Physical, again. Back-and-forth, again.

And the Lynx won, again, 90-81.

Up 16 with 6:39 left in the third quarter after a 14-0 start to the second half, the Lynx allowed the Wings to draw within one on Teaira McCowan’s three-point play with 3:50 left.

But the Lynx didn’t fold.

Kayla McBride — whose second-quarter three made her the 17th player in WNBA history to reach 500 treys — scored 20 points with seven rebounds. Napheesa Collier scored 25 points with seven rebounds.

McCowan scored 23 with 18 rebounds for Dallas, but she missed some crucial shots late. Awak Kuier, who started in place of the injured Sabally, scored 12.

Dallas scored 50 points in the paint but was just 2-for-13 on threes. The Lynx had a 22-13 edge on second-chance points.

With the victory the Lynx (17-17) moved a half-game ahead of Atlanta for fifth place in the WNBA, within a game of fourth-place Dallas (18-16).

The Lynx shot 55% and enjoyed an edge in points off turnovers, bench scoring and second-chance points in the first quarter.

Still, it ended with Minnesota up by just two points because Dallas made better than 61% of its shots, led by Kuier, who made all three of her shots and scored seven points.

The game shifted in the second quarter, but the results stayed the same.

For example: Dallas started flexing its muscle in the paint, turning six offensive boards into nine second-quarter points. Dallas shot just 6-for-18 in the quarter, but got to the line 18 times, making 13 of them.

The Lynx led 28-23 early in the quarter and were still up two after McBride made two of three free throws with 6:20 left in the half. But Minnesota missed six straight shots as Dallas surged to a 40-37 lead.

But despite struggling to rebound on the defensive end, the Lynx finished the half strong. McBride had four points and Collier three as the Lynx finished the half 13-8 to go back up two for 50-48 at halftime.

Indeed, Mitchell’s two free throws at the end of the first half was the start of that big run, 16-0 in all, with Collier scoring eight, including a drive for a basket with 6:39 left in the third that put the Lynx up 16.

Out of a time-out Dallas went on a 12-5 run to pull within nine before Rachel Banham hit a bucket to end the third, putting Minnesota up 71-60.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.