The Portland Fire lost on Wednesday evening to the first-place Minnesota Lynx 85-81. It was a game of two halves. Minnesota led by as many as 26 in the first half, but after spotting the Lynx a few more points to start the third quarter it was all Portland until the last two minutes of the game. The furious comeback fell short, but the Fire once again showed that they have no idea when they are beat. Bridget Carleton led the way for the Fire with 16 points, while Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier took
scoring overall scoring honors with 20. Teja Oblak had nine assists for the Fire.
A tough task for the Fire got tougher when it was announced pre-game that point guard Carla Leite would not be able to go in this one after suffering a left knee sprain on Saturday. Rookie Jordan Harrison would get the start after a very good performance filling in following Leite’s early exit.
From the opening tip it looked like this game was there for the taking for the Lynx. Their offense is just so smooth. If you attack their guards, they get to ball to a big in the paint. If you clog the lane, they make you pay from the three-point line. When you miss on the other end, they’ll take it to you in transition. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the Lynx jumped out to an 11-point lead early. Full credit to Portland then when they closed out the first quarter with an 8-0 run to get the margin down to three. That was some gutsy basketball, making things a bit messy, forcing some turnovers, and finding new ways to score against a robust Minnesota defense.
In the second quarter Minnesota would hit the accelerator with devastating results. The Lynx were hitting lightning-quick contested threes while Portland was missing wide-open ones. The passing of the Lynx was sublime. Every trip down the court seemed to end in a layup or a three. The Lynx were just on another level when it comes to ball movement and execution and it didn’t take long for the scoreboard to show that. The Lynx led by as many as 26, just relentless.
With 8:16 left in the third quarter the Lynx led by 29 and the game was over for all intents and purposes. Right? Right? No one told the Fire that and they reminded the Lynx that a game has four quarters, not two. From the Lynx’s high-water mark to deep into the fourth quarter, it was all Portland. Suddenly Minnesota wasn’t making the extra pass, the Fire defense found a new level. They chewed up that lead methodically, possession by possession. The deficit shrunk down to 17 points after three quarters, but the Fire weren’t done. Against all odds, the Fire got the Minnesota lead down 10 points with 7:21 to go in the fourth quarter. And that’s when Minnesota flipped the switch, right? Nope. Portland got it down to a single point with just 1:44 remaining and a second free throw to come, but Emily Engstler missed the ensuing free throw and the Fire just couldn’t get over the hump. A few late turnovers from Portland and Minnesota was able to put out the Fire, but that comeback, even though it fell short, was one for the ages.
Let’s look at some takeaways.
Long-Range Shooting
A common blueprint for pulling off an upset is to make your three pointers. The Fire didn’t. 8-31 was simply too few points with too many empty possessions. If a few more of those had hit…
Passing
For most of the first half the Lynx put on an absolute clinic with their ball movement. They weren’t just making the proverbial extra pass, sometimes it was an extra two or three passes, ending up in a layup or a wide open three. Portland will probably admit to not having a very good defensive performance in the first half, but Minnesota deserves full credit for demonstrating how to punish a team on its heals. Credit the Fire for making the Lynx’s passing more of an adventure in the second half.
Second-Chance Points
After a really poor performance in this category on the weekend, Portland dominated second-chance points against the Lynx 17-5. In the second half the Fire simply wanted it more than the Lynx, and second chance points is the best way to illustrate that. 11 offensive boards emphasizes the point.
Free Throws
What could have been. For the season, the Fire are in 10th place in the WNBA for free-throw shooting percentage at 75.5%. Tonight they were a disappointing 56.3%. A better performance at the line and the could have ended differently.
Never Say Die
You just have to love a team that can respond when being 29 points down to the best team in the WNBA. Honestly, the Fire should have lost this game by double digits. But they didn’t, and in the process they put real fear in the eyes of the Lynx. Just tremendous effort and desire making for a memorable evening.
Up Next
Up I-5 the Fire go to take on the Seattle Storm for the fourth and final time this season. The Fire will be gunning for the season sweep at 7:00pm Pacific on Friday, August 14.
