Lynx outlast Liberty to force deciding Game 5 of WNBA Finals

MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time since 2019, the WNBA Finals are going the distance.

With a lot of experience in these games over the years, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was asked what she thought would be the difference Sunday when the  Lynx meet the New York Liberty to decide the league championship (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“I wish I knew,” Reeve said. “I’d either not sleep, or I’d sleep really good. It’s two great teams. Who knows?”

This has been a series of responding to tough losses. On Friday at Target Center, it was Minnesota’s turn. The Lynx won 82-80 on two free throws from Bridget Carleton with 2 seconds left.

That came after Wednesday’s Game 3 in Minnesota, when Sabrina Ionescu made a 28-foot 3-pointer with 1 second left for an 80-77 Liberty victory.

With a chance Friday to secure their first WNBA title in franchise history, the Liberty fell short and now must be the team that responds after disappointment — again.

New York did that in Game 2 with an 80-66 victory that followed a crushing 95-93 Game 1 loss in overtime. Those two games were at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as Sunday’s game will be.

“We bounce back after a loss really, really well, and making sure that everybody is on the same page going forward,” New York’s Breanna Stewart said. “In the playoffs, in a series, there’s going to be momentum shifts. There were momentum shifts in the game tonight.”

But Game 4 was the tightest in this series throughout all 40 minutes, with 14 lead changes and 13 ties. As was the case in Game 3, the Lynx took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

In the final four minutes, the teams traded big plays, including Carleton and Kayla McBride making 3-pointers for Minnesota and Jonquel Jones getting a three-point play for New York.

With 35 seconds left, the Liberty missed three chances at the basket and then had a shot clock violation. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was angry after the game about the officiating, noting she tried to call a timeout during that stretch but wasn’t heard.

It gave Minnesota the ball with 18.1 seconds left and the score tied at 80-80. The Lynx looked to Courtney Williams to take a potential winning shot. She missed, but Carleton was fouled on the rebound by Ionescu.

Carleton was a second-round draft selection out of  Iowa State in 2019 by  Connecticut and was waived by the Sun in her rookie season. Minnesota picked her up, and she found a home with the Lynx. This has been by far her best WNBA season, as she became a full-time starter for the first time and averaged a career-high 9.6 points per game in the regular season.

Carleton made both free throws with 2 seconds left, and Ionescu missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“I think it’s an epitome of the year she’s had and how important she’s been to the team,” Reeve said of Carleton, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds. “She’s a hustle-play player, so that was on display. You can always count on her to be there for you.”

McBride led Minnesota with 19 points. For New York, Jones had 21 and Leonie Fiebich 19.

For Stewart and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, both all-WNBA first-team selections, Friday was another tough battle as they often guard each other. Stewart was 5-of-21 from the field for 11 points and Collier 4-of-10 for 14.

“We are both great players,” Collier said. “It’s going to get harder and harder each time to get the shots that you normally get.”

Sunday will be the ninth meeting in 2024 between Collier and Stewart — who have been  UConn and USA Basketball teammates — and the Lynx and Liberty. And it will be the last, the game that decides if New York wins a long-awaited first WNBA championship or Minnesota wins a WNBA-record fifth.

It will be the eighth Game 5 in WNBA Finals history, and the sixth that Reeve will be part of, as either an assistant at Detroit (2006, ’07) or head coach of the Lynx (2015, ’16, ’17, ’24). She was on the winning side in 2006, 2015 and 2017. Will that be the case Sunday?

“I do feel very blessed in my career to have a chance to have been a part of so many,” Reeve said. “Haven’t won them all. I think what I’m just thrilled about is that this group gets to experience a Game 5.

“It’s beyond words how we feel about this team, and we just so wanted them to be in the Finals, No. 1, and 2, put themselves in a position to win a championship. And we’ve done just that.”