Lynx advance, Liberty crowd mute

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The Minnesota Lynx are headed back to the semifinals.

The No. 1 seed Lynx clawed their way back from a 17-point deficit to beat the Golden State Valkyries, 75-74, on Wednesday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

“It was (a) tough game, closeout games are always so hard, especially in an environment like this,” Lynx MVP candidate Napheesa Collier said postgame.

The Lynx will wait for their opponent. The Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday joined the Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever in forcing Game 3s by thoroughly dismantling the defending champion New York Liberty, 86-60, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

It was the Mercury’s first playoff win since the 2021 WNBA Finals. It was the largest loss by the Liberty at home in their playoff history and the Mercury’s largest road win when facing playoff elimination.

Game 3 will be Friday in Phoenix at the PHX Center (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Liberty know they have to make changes if they want to advance to the semifinals and continue their title defense.

“We can’t go out and play the same way we did and expect a different result,” Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “We have to go out and make the adjustments and play like our season is on the line, because it is.”

Winners

Phoenix Mercury’s Big 3

The Mercury didn’t panic after their disappointing Game 1 loss to the Liberty. Instead, Phoenix geared up for a battle in New York. “The mindset is … go to New York and get it,” Kahleah Copper said on Sunday. That’s exactly what the Mercury did. Phoenix not only staved off elimination, it dominated the defending champs.

The Mercury’s Big 3 of Alyssa Thomas (15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds), Satou Sabally (15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) and Copper (14 points, 2 rebounds) took charge. The trio of stars set the tone early and got all their teammates involved. The Mercury are 14-0 this season when their Big 3 scores 10 or more points each. There may have been questions about Phoenix’s future after the end of the Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner era, but the new lineup has the Mercury one win away from their first semifinal appearance since 2021.

Phoenix Mercury unicorn Satou Sabally

Mercury forward Satou Sabally turned in her worst shooting performance of the season in a Game 1 loss to the Liberty on Sunday, going 2-of-17 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3 at home. Sabally said she watched the film and took good shot attempts, despite the end result. “I’m a great player and I know that. That game was not who I am,” she said. Sabally came out aggressive and shot 5-for-11 and 2-for-4 from 3 on Wednesday, finishing with 15 points in the win. “We’re not done yet,” Sabally declared after the victory.

Resilient Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx are the first and only team to advance to the semifinals in two games after every other first-round playoff series went to Game 3. It wasn’t an easy feat as the Lynx found themselves down 17 points in a rowdy road environment. Minnesota could have easily thrown in the towel and looked forward to Game 3 at home, but the Lynx leaned into their experience in the comeback win. “I asked them not to quit,” Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said. The Lynx now have three days rest before their semifinal series against the Mercury or Liberty, which begins on Sunday.

Golden State Valkyries’ first season

After the Valkyries suffered a one-point loss to the Lynx on Wednesday, and Golden State’s Cinderella season came to an end, the sold-out crowd at SAP Center in San Jose stood on their feet and emphatically chanted “GSV.” It was a stunning display of support and highlights the expansion team’s wildly successful inaugural season, despite a quick playoff exit. WNBA Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase led the Valkyries to a playoff bid, becoming the first expansion team to make the postseason in its inaugural season. The Valkyries took the No. 1 seed down to the wire in Game 2 and were one jump shot away from notching their first playoff win.

Golden State also sold out each of their 22 regular-season games at Chase Center and set an all-time WNBA attendance record, welcoming 397,408 total fans and an average attendance of 18,064 this season. This is just the beginning for the Valkyries.

0-1 teams

Three of the four teams facing elimination in the first round of the WNBA playoffs forced a decisive Game 3. The Indiana Fever kicked things off with a 77-60 dismantling of the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, followed by the Seattle Storm snapping the Las Vegas Aces’ 17-game win streak in an 86-83 comeback win. The Phoenix Mercury continued the trend on Wednesday with an 86-60 rout of the defending champion Liberty. The Golden State Valkyries nearly forced a Game 3 against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, but ultimately suffered a one-point loss.

Heading into the 2025 WNBA postseason, there were three total first-round Game 3s in over four years of this format. Now, WNBA fans will be treated to three Game 3s across Thursday and Friday alone.

Losers

Everything about the New York Liberty

The defending champion New York Liberty looked … well, beatable. The Liberty were held to 60 points, their second lowest total of the season, in Wednesday’s loss. After making 10 field goals in the first quarter, the Liberty had nine the rest of the game. New York shot a season-low 30.2% from the field, 23.1% from the 3-point line and 16-of-25 from the free throw line.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello had seen enough by the fourth quarter and pulled a majority of her starters, essentially waving the white flag. None of New York’s starters scored in double-digits. The Liberty squandered their chance to close out the Mercury on their home court. New York not only has to travel cross-country to Phoenix (again), it has given its opponent lots of confidence heading into Game 3. To make matters worse, the Minnesota Lynx closed out the Valkyries and will be rested for the winner of this series.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu

Ionescu was not a factor in Game 2. She was 3-of-13 from the field and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. To add insult to injury, Ionescu was 2-of-6 from the free throw line. Entering Wednesday, Ionescu had not missed more than two free throws in a single game in her career. Ionescu is shooting 93.3% from the free throw line this season and 91.3% in her entire career.

“We can’t go out and play the same way we did and expect a different result,” Ionescu said. “We have to go out and make the adjustments and play like our season is on the line, because it is.”

Barclays Center

The Barclays Center caught several strays in the Mercury’s postgame on Wednesday. Following the Mercury’s win over the Liberty, Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally both mentioned how quiet it was in the Liberty’s arena. “I didn’t think it was loud to start. I was shocked. I was expecting us to have to deal with the crowd and courtside people, but it was quiet,” Copper said. Sabally added that PHX Arena will be “louder than” New York as the series shifts back to Phoenix for a decisive Game 3. To be fair, the Liberty didn’t give their fans much to cheer for, but it remains to be seen if these comments will serve as bulletin board material. Sorry, Spike Lee.

Breanna Stewart’s knee

Breanna Stewart opted to play through an MCL sprain her left knee, but the New York Liberty forward looked like a shell of herself. She was held to six points in 20 minutes, shooting 2-of-6 from the field and 0-of-1 from the 3-point line. It’s an unfortunate development for Stewart, who previously missed 13 regular season games with a bone bruise in her right knee. There’s questions surrounding Stewart’s health and the Liberty’s ability to challenge the Mercury without her at full strength.

1-0 teams

Aside from the Minnesota Lynx, three teams failed the close out their opponent in the first-round.

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