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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Lynx had a laundry list of adjustments they wanted to make after a disappointing two games in New York. Although they had stolen one road game to start the series, their play left much to be desired, especially considering their regular-season success against the New York Liberty.
Yet as Game 3 wore on and they checked off successive items on their list, a sobering reality presented itself. Even as the Lynx fixed the issues that had plagued them in the first two games, the Liberty kept coming back. So if New York plays its game, what can Minnesota do to extend this series to a Game 5?
The Lynx had talked ad nauseam about getting off to better starts after they trailed by 18 in the first half of Game 1 and 17 before halftime of Game 2. As Courtney Williams said before Game 3, they were being passive and trying to let the game come to them instead of imposing their will.
“We getting down so far, and then it’s taking us so much energy to get out of that hole. And then by the time we get out, it’s like damn, dude,” Williams said. “So yeah, if we get out early, then I think we’ll have a different game.”
Minnesota came out of the gates on fire Wednesday, bringing its tempo in the half court and making New York defend for a full 24 seconds. The Lynx also were manic with their defensive pressure on the perimeter, forcing eight first-quarter turnovers that resulted in 14 points. And yet, the Liberty were within 10 by the end of the quarter. New York coach Sandy Brondello put in Courtney Vandersloot early to change the pace of the Liberty’s offense; Minnesota got caught in a couple of bad switches, and the Liberty had settled themselves.
So if the start wasn’t enough to put the Liberty away, perhaps the Lynx could change the tide by controlling the glass. They were outrebounded by 12 in the opener and seven in Game 2 but closed the gap to four in Game 3. Perhaps most critically, they exceeded the Liberty on the offensive glass, collecting seven offensive rebounds to create a 14-10 advantage on second-chance points. They also took 14 more field goal attempts than their opponent. However, they made only one more shot than New York and converted fewer 3-pointers and free throws.
The Lynx also achieved their goal of limiting Game 2 X-factor Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who settled for 2 points and three assists to go along with two turnovers.
“Our defense gave us a chance to win the game, period,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We just need to score the ball a couple times. Just a couple times.”
“Like Coach said, we were getting really good looks; we just weren’t executing on the offensive end,” Napheesa Collier said. “We just need to make more shots, honestly.”
Textbook transition play from the Lynx 👏🔥
Courtney dishing it to Phee on the break!#WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/xjKltQEnyP
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 17, 2024
And therein lies the problem with Minnesota’s effort Wednesday. The Lynx took care of the controllables in their game plan, but they still fell short and trail 2-1 in the WNBA Finals. When they had to dig deep and make plays in clutch situations, the Liberty were simply better, making the plays they needed Wednesday for the 80-77 victory.
Up four with 2:25 to play, Minnesota sank too deep into the paint on a Leonie Fiebich drive and surrendered a Jonquel Jones 3-pointer on the wing. After a Collier miss — one of those good looks she and Reeve were referring to — Sabrina Ionescu drove into the paint and collapsed the defense, and no one was there to help when she dumped the ball off to Jones for a layup. Kayla McBride’s attempt to respond, when Collier cleared a path to the basket for her with a screen, rimmed off, and New York completed an 8-0 run with an Ionescu 3-pointer when Collier conceded too much space on a switch.
“We had the appropriate effort and focus on what we were doing,” Reeve said. “It’s a battle. We talked about that — players making plays. Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough of them.”
The lone saving grace for the Lynx is that their starters handily won their minutes. When Alanna Smith was in the game, Minnesota was a plus-20. But when Myisha Hines-Allen subbed in, the Liberty took advantage of the lack of size inside; they also had Stewart roam off of Hines-Allen, who isn’t the same caliber of shooter as Smith, which made New York even more imposing protecting the rim. The Lynx tried to go small with Cecilia Zandalasini and Collier as the bigs to juice the offense, but the defense suffered accordingly.
Smith has been dealing with an ankle issue since Game 1 and appeared to add another malady Thursday when she aggravated her back while taking a blocking foul on Jones. She had to go to the locker room in the third quarter and was visibly emotional when leaving the floor. To put it plainly, Minnesota doesn’t have a hope of containing the Liberty without Smith. If she can be on the court longer Friday — though this represents the shortest turnaround of the series thus far — that might be the edge the Lynx need.
As it stands, Minnesota is scraping for any advantage it can find because New York looks like the more battle-tested team, the group that has been in multiple hard situations together and has the wherewithal to come through on the other side.
“This is Phee’s first finals, so she’s feeling these things for the first time,” Reeve said. “There’s so many ups and downs and swings all around, and it takes special mental toughness and physical toughness to sort of weather those swings, and here we are. We’re disappointed. We’re home. We played well and just couldn’t come up with the win.”
(Photo of Kayla McBride: David Berding / Getty Images)
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