In the biggest game of the season to this point, the Minnesota Lynx took on the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of their semifinal series. In Game 2, the Lynx were up by as many as 20 points, but were unable
to finish the game off. Instead of taking a commanding 2-0 series lead, the series was tied up 1-1, setting up the pivotal third game of the series on Friday night.
The turning point in Game 2 came midway through the third quarter, when Phoenix increased the defensive pressure and physicality, resulting in a massive number of turnovers by Minnesota. That trend continued in the early parts of Game 3, as the Lynx struggled to establish their offense in the first half, leading to rushed shots, turnovers, and transition opportunities for the Mercury.
In the second quarter, the Lynx defense was the issue as they allowed the Mercury to score 29 points in the frame. Phoenix made 12 of their final 14 shots, including 13 points from Kahleah Copper, who finished the first half with 17 points on 8-9 shooting.
Despite the largely sloppy half of play, the Lynx were only down 48-44 after two quarters, largely due to Napheesa Collier, who scored 13 first-half points.
The Lynx have been the best third-quarter team in the WNBA this season, and that continued in this one as Lynx defense finally began to take hold in the third quarter, allowing only 15 points. The offense also began to hit its stride a bit, allowing the Lynx to get out to a six-point lead before a pair of Satou Sabally free throws put the score at 67-63 heading into the fourth quarter.
Emotions ran high at times during the game as Courtney Williams and Copper jarred back and forth with each other throughout the game.
The game remained close until the closing minutes of the game. After Minnesota took the lead 76-75 on a Mario Kliundikova layup, the Lynx did not score the remainder of the game, struggling to deal with the Mercury’s physicality.
The final nail in the coffin came with less than 30 seconds left when Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from the Lynx. During the play, Collier both rolled her ankle and knocked knees with Thomas, who was not called for a foul on the play. This enraged Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who was ejected after receiving her second technical of the game.
Collier was helped back to the locker room with tears in her eyes after the play. The Lynx went on to lose the game by a final score of 84-76. They are now one loss away from their season ending well short of their goal, hoping for some good news in terms of Collier’s health.
Up Next
The Lynx will try to save their season in Game 4 on Sunday, September 28 at 7:00 PM CT on ESPN, needing to win the next two games to make it back to the WNBA Finals.
