Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier fight for a jump ball with 9:24 remaining in the second quarter during Wednesday’s Round 1 Game 2 playoff game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Minnesota Lynx guard Napheesa Collier tied the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and the Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry as being the third person to tie the WNBA single game playoff points record with 42 points in a game, when the Lynx downed the Phoenix Mercury 101-88 in front of 8,769 at Target Center on Wednesday night in a Round 1 Game 2 matchup.
The Mercury tried to keep the momentum going from Sunday by striking first. Guard Natasha Cloud scored the first basket as Phoenix opened the game shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Center Brittney Griner made to layups, Cloud made another layup, guard Kahleah Copper made a shot and guard Diana Taurasi drained a three-pointer to give the Mercury a 13-5 advantage with 6:09 left in the opening quarter as part of an early 9-0 run. Collier made two layups and a free throw for the Lynx during that span.
Minnesota guard Kayla McBride made a three-pointer to halt the Mercury run, but Phoenix answered immediately with a three-pointer from Taurasi, to restore their eight-point advantage.
After a layup by Lynx center Alanna Smith, she was called for a defensive three seconds penalty on the other end. Taurasi made the technical free shot.
Copper and Cloud both ended up on the free throw line, converting three of the four shots. Meanwhile, Collier made three shots during the last three minutes of the opening quarter. Collier finished the quarter having scored 11 points as the Mercury led 25-21 at the quarter break.
Minnesota made the first two baskets of the quarter to tie the score 25-25. Mercury forward Natasha Mack made a jump shot to give the Mercury the lead again, but a layup on the other end by Lynx guard Kayla McBride tied the game up again.
Mercury forward Monique Billings scored a put back layup after a miss from forward Sophie Cunningham to put Phoenix back on top. Smith then scored a layup to tie the game again, but she was fouled by Cloud on the play. Her free throw gave Minnesota the 30-29 lead.
Natisha Hiedeman, the Minnesota guard, was dribbling up the court near midcourt when she has fouled hard near midcourt by Cloud. The officials reviewed the play and determined that Cloud committed a transition take foul, which gave Minnesota a technical free throw. Collier made the shot for the Lynx. Minnesota maintained possession, which ended 15 seconds later when forward Bridget Carleton drained a three-pointer. The Lynx were on a 7-0 run, which was also a 13-4 run since the beginning of the quarter.
The Lynx weren’t finished. Collier made two free throws and Smith made two layups to cap a 19-6 Minnesota run to take a 40-31 lead with 5:28 left in the half.
The Mercury didn’t roll over. Copper made a midrange jumper, but then fouled Hiedeman who made two free throws. Mack made back-to-back layups which forced Minnesota to call timeout. Collier made a three-pointer for Minnesota when play resumed.
Billings made a layup but was fouled by Smith. She missed the free shot. Center Brittney Griner grabbed the rebound and made a put back layup. On the next Mercury possession, Griner made a layup and was also fouled by Smith. Griner made the free throw as Phoenix set out on a 7-0 run and trailed the Lynx by one point, 45-44 with 1:59 remaining until halftime.
Collier continued finding ways to score. She made a layup, which was answered by a Cloud three-pointer to tie the score at 47-47. Collier was then fouled by Griner. The two free throws gave Minnesota a 49-47 halftime lead.
When play resumed after the halftime break, Cloud made two free throw shots after getting fouled by Carleton, to tie the score 49-49. This was answered by a layup by Lynx guard Courtney Williams.
A three-pointer by Copper gave the Mercury their final lead of the night, but it only lasted 30 seconds before a shot by McBride put Minnesota back on top by one point. The Lynx led 53-52 with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
Phoenix Mercury forward Sophie Cunningham tries to stop Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton from making a layup at the 7:43 mark of the third quarter of Wednesday’s Round 1 Game 2 playoff game at Target Center. Cunningham was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul on the play. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
What happened next may be described as one of those moments that define a playoff basketball game and is stuff that highlight reels come back to in future years. Carleton stole a pass from Cloud and ran the length of the court to attempt a layup. As Carleton was in the act of shooting, Cunningham poked at the ball with one hand, and wrapped around her opponent’s body with the other. Cunningham proceeded to throw Carleton to the floor. Williams, trying to protect her teammate, got into the face of Cunningham. Referee Eric Brewton hit Williams with the technical foul while players, coaches and referees were trying to separate the two teams and restore order. The officiating crew then huddled at the scorer’s table to conduct an official review of the play, which they upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul.
Taurasi made the technical free shot for the Mercury to tie the score 53-53. Then Carlton went to the line and made her two free throws to break the tie and give Minnesota the two point lead.
Minnesota played inspirational ball from that incident until the end of the quarter. McBride hit a three-pointer. Williams connected on a midrange jumper. Collier went on a tear with a turnaround jumper, two layups, and two free throws after getting fouled by Mack. Williams made a three-pointer and two free throws. In response, Phoenix made a three-pointer and a jump shot from Copper, Griner scored a layup as did Mack, and Cloud made a jump shot.
In the end, the Lynx went on a 23-12 run since the Carleton-Cunningham incident earlier in the quarter. Minnesota now led 76-64 with one quarter left to go. Collier had scored 31 points with one quarter left to go, making this her third 30-point+ game in a row.
Taurasi tried to will her team back into the game by opening fourth quarter scoring with a jump shot. McBride attempted a three-pointer in response, but Brewton whistled Taurasi with a loose ball foul for shoving Lynx forward Myisha Hines-Allen. Taurasi and Hines-Allen got into a brief shouting match resulting in a double-technical foul being issued – one against each player.
Hines-Allen was fouled by Cloud and made one of two free throws, and then Collier made a wide open layup.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier makes an open layup during Wednesday’s WNBA Round 1 Game 2 playoff game at Target Center. Collier scored a career-high 42 points, which ties New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and the Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry for the WNBA record for most points in a playoff game. This is also Collier’s third consecutive game scoring more than 30 points. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Phoenix attempted to get Griner more involved in the offense but Minnesota answered each basket she scored with one of their own or a Collier trip to the free throw lane. No matter what the Mercury did, the Lynx lead got larger, not smaller. During one stretch midway through the quarter, Collier made it to the free throw line twice, making three out of four, and then adding a layup to make the score 91-73 in favor of the Lynx with 5:58 remaining in the game.
The time was soon running out for the vaunted Mercury. Carleton was fouled by Billings with 2:40 left in regulation. It was Billings who was injured on the play. She had to be carried off the court.
Taurasi, after getting called for an offensive foul, checked out of the game in what might possibly her final time, with 2:34 left on the clock, as Minnesota led 98-84.
McBride finished the scoring for Minnesota with a three-pointer while Mack converted a shot and was fouled by guard Olivia Epoupa. Mack missed the free shot. Guard Celeste Taylor made a layup for Phoenix’s final points. Lynx won 101-88 and will make another trip to the semifinal round.
Minnesota shot 34-for-67 (50.7 percent) from the field; 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from three-point range and 23-for-27 (85.2 percent) from the free throw line. They committed seven turnover leading to nine Phoenix points.
“I know it [Flagrant foul] impacted us. I know how we felt. We had to respond physically in this game and we knew that,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “We knew that they were going to come after us and try to play in a way that would knock us off our stride.”
“That’s probably the thing I’m most proud about – that we stood in there. We took a lot of hits and we were convinced that they couldn’t play that way the whole game, and if they tried, they would find themselves exactly where they found themselves, with players fouling out and us being at the free throw line,” she added.
The Mercury went 35-for-68 (51.5 percent) from the field; 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) from three-point range; and 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from the free throw line. They made 15 turnovers leading to 24 Lynx points.
“I thought we played two good quarters to start the third quarter. We did not play at the level that we needed to,” said Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts. “[Collier] is an unbelievable player. She puts you into a lot of different situations, but it’s also the surrounding group which makes it tough.”
“You have a decision to make when she goes down there in the post. Are you going to try to guard her one-on-one? And hope for two’s? Or are you going to double up and they’re making three’s? When she’s in the post, Carleton, Smith and McBride and others are spacing the floor that makes it really tough. You don’t want to give up rotation-type three-s in those situations. [Collier] is playing at such a high level. There’s reason she’s in the MVP discussion,” Tibbetts added.
Phoenix led in points-in-the-paint with a 46-38 advantage and 13-8 in second chance points. Minnesota held a 6-4 lead in fast break points.
The Lynx were led by Napheesa Collier’s 42 points, which ties the WNBA record for most points in a playoff game. Kayla McBride contributed 15 points, Bridget Carleton and Alanna Smith each scored 12; and Courtney Williams netted 15 points.
“I was just taking what the defense gave me and what my teammates were giving me, and just taking advantage of the defense,” Collier said. “The way we were moving the ball was so good. And the way we were getting each other open and making them get into rotation. I was just the recipient of that.”
Phoenix was led by Brittney Griner’s 24 points; 16 points and 10 assists for Natasha Cloud; 13 points by Kahleah Copper; 12 points from Natasha Mack; and 10 points for Diana Taurasi. Four players had five rebounds each.
“I’m proud of us. I’m proud of the way we played these last two games. I think this is the most connected that we’ve been on both ends of the floor,” said Cloud. “Obviously we could have stepped up better defensively in a lot of instances in both of these games, but I’m really proud of us for the year we put together.”
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi looks at a fan’s sign during Wednesday’s WNBA Round 1 Game 2 playoff game at Target Center. Taurasi has not disclosed whether she will retire or play next season. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
The biggest unknown coming out of this game is whether Diana Taurasi is returning for another season or retiring. When she checked out of the game with 2:34 remaining in the game, Minnesota fans rose and gave her a standing ovation to acknowledge the career of their long-time Western Conference rival. Taurasi has not publicly discussed her future plans.
“We’ll see what she decides to do. That’s kind of been her approach the whole way,” said Tibbetts. “Personally, I just like to thank her. For a new coach coming into a new league, the way that she welcomed me and helped me through this season – what an opportunity for me to coach the greatest ever. I’m super thankful for that.”
“She can be super proud of having a really good 20th year in still being a super productive player. Hat’s off to her and the career that she’s had,” he added.
“I mean 20 years is incredible. It’s really incredible to think about 20 years at a high level. [She’s] one of the all-time great competitors in ANY sport,” said Reeve, who coached Taurasi as both an assistant coach and head coach on past USA Basketball Olympic teams. “The league will miss one of the all-time greatest competitors. Twenty years – is that a generation? It’s pretty incredible. So congratulations to her if it is indeed – this was her last game. Congratulations on an incredible career.”
Now we wait until Taurasi makes public her intentions. Until then, the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx will host the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun for the WNBA Semifinals Game 1 on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT at Target Center for a best-of-five series.
