Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith battle for a rebound during Sunday’s first round playoff game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith blocked two crucial shots in the final minute of play to help the Lynx fend off a hard-charging Phoenix Mercury team 102-95 in front of 8,524 at Target Center on Sunday for Game 1 of the three-game playoff series between the two teams.
The best-of-three first round series marks the seventh playoff series between these two teams, the most between two teams facing each other in WNBA history. Under the old playoff format, they met in the Conference Finals four times (2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015) with the Lynx winning all of them in two games except the 2014 series which the Mercury won in a decisive Game 3. In 2016, the first year under the new format, they played in the best-of-five semifinal round with Minnesota winning in three games. Minnesota won the last meeting, a second-round single elimination game in the COVID-shortened “bubble year” of 2020. The Lynx lead the Mercury 11-2 in postseason play.
Phoenix struck first immediately after the tip off when center Brittney Griner hit a turnaround jump shot over the outstretched arms of Lynx center Alanna Smith for the quick strike. Guard Kahleah Copper added two more with an open layup. Phoenix led 4-0 after the first minute of play.
Lynx guard Courtney Williams hit a jump shot, which was followed by a step through layup by forward Napheesa Collier to tie the game 4-4 with 8:21 left in the opening quarter.
Williams missed a layup, which was rebounded by Collier, who sank the put back layup and got fouled by Mercury forward Sophie Cunningham in the process. Collier made her free shot to extend the Lynx lead to three, but Mercury guard Natasha Cloud answered with a layup. Cunningham fouled Collier a minute later, resulting in two more made free throws for the Lynx forward. Again, Cloud answered with a layup making it 9-8 in favor of Minnesota with 6:26 left in the first quarter.
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams shoots a fast break layup as Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud trails during Sunday’s WNBA Playoff Round 1 Game 1 at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
The Lynx increased their defensive pressure forcing Phoenix to make difficult shots while playing in transition. In the next three minutes, the Mercury missed five consecutive shots and turned the ball over twice. Meanwhile, the Lynx saw Smith make a jump shot; Collier scored on a fadeaway jumper and a layup; Williams made a three-pointer; and forward Bridget Carleton stole the pass, passed to Williams who dished to Smith for a wide open three-pointer. Right after that, Collier was wide open for another layup. Minnesota went on a 14-0 run and held a 23-8 lead with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter.
The Mercury tried to get the momentum back in the remainder of the quarter, but were met with answers from the Lynx. Copper made a layup but then Carleton hit a three-pointer. Cloud made a jump shot for the Mercury, followed up by a Cunningham three-pointer to cut the deficit to 11, but Lynx guard Kayla McBride answered with a three-pointer. Cloud made another jump shot, which was answered with a McBride fast break layup in which she was fouled by guard Diana Taurasi on the play. After McBride made her free shot, Taurasi hit a jump shot with 5.1 seconds left. Minnesota took a 32-19 advantage into the quarter break.
The Lynx opened the second quarter with an emphasis of increasing their margin and started with a jump shot from McBride, followed by a three-pointer from Collier. Cloud answered with a basket, followed by another three-pointer by Collier and another jump shot from Cloud. It was 40-23 with 8:05 left in the half.
After a Taurasi layup, Minnesota went on a 10-2 run with two free throws and a layup from forward Myisha Hines-Allen after another Cunningham foul; two layups from guard Natisha Hiedeman, and a layup from forward Cecilia Zandalasini. After Hiedeman’s second basket in the run, Phoenix called timeout to regroup. Minnesota led 50-27 with 5:36 left in the half, which would prove to be their largest lead of the ballgame.
Phoenix Mercury forward Monique Billings gets swarmed by four Minnesota Lynx players during Sunday’s WNBA playoffs Round 1 Game 1 at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
When play resumed, the Mercury came out with a renewed focus. In the 2024 WNBA regular season, teams were 2-71 when trailing by larger than 20 points. Only the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings were able to overcome such large margins. Phoenix aimed to become the third team to do so this year.
It started with forward Monique Billings who made a put back shot after Cloud missed a layup. Then Cloud hit a three-pointer. Minnesota’s Collier made two trips to the free throw line after getting fouled by Griner and Copper, making all four shots. Then Griner responded with two of her own after getting fouled by Smith. Taurasi hit a three-pointer and Copper added a fast break layup as the game tightened. Minnesota’s Carleton hit a fadeaway jump shot as the shot clock expired, but Cloud sank a three-pointer to cap a 15-6 Phoenix run. Minnesota led 56-42 at the halftime break.
After a Collier jump shot opened the third quarter scoring, Phoenix took up where they left off before halftime. Taurasi sank a three-point shot, Cunningham stole the ball from Williams and then scored on a fast break layup. Minnesota’s Smith scored a put back basket on a Collier miss, then Taurasi nailed a three-point shot to make the score 60-50 in favor of Minnesota with 7:03 left in the third. The Lynx called a timeout to try to regain the momentum.
McBride had the hot hand momentarily as she made back-to-back three-pointers, the second following a steal by Williams. Then the Lynx fortunes came to an end.
Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud attempts to drive against Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith during Sunday’s 2024 WNBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 1 at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Phoenix used a jump shot from Griner; a three-pointer from guard Celeste Taylor; a short jumper from forward Natasha Mack; and three-pointers from Cloud and Cunningham to push a 13-2 run and get the game back to a single-digit deficit. The score was 68-63 with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
Three Lynx players – McBride, Collier and Carleton, each made trips to the free throw line and came away a combined 6-for-6 to push the lead back to 11. Then Taurasi made another three-pointer, which was answered by one from Collier. It looked as if Minnesota would keep that 11-point lead when Cloud snuck in a three-pointer just before the quarter ended. Minnesota led 77-69 with one quarter to go.
The Mercury continued to make life difficult for the Lynx. They took a 10-2 run with multiple made shots from Copper and Cloud, plus a three-pointer from Taurasi, to pull within one-point, thereby erasing a 23-point deficit from earlier in the game. Minnesota led 82-81.
After Copper made a three-pointer and Griner sank two free throws, Phoenix took an 86-85 lead, their first since the 4-2 margin early in the first quarter. The lead lasted exactly 16 seconds when Williams made a midrange jumper to recapture the one-point lead for Minnesota.
A short jumper from Griner followed a layup from Cloud put the Mercury back on top 92-91 with 2:05 left in the game. This, too, would be short-lived as Minnesota took back the lead 15 seconds later on a layup from Hines-Allen. Collier made two free throws after getting fouled by Cloud.
Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith attempts a three-pointer during Sunday’s WNBA Playoff Round 1 Game 1 against the Phoenix Mercury at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Then Alanna Smith decided that it was time to impact the game. As Cloud was driving for a layup with 1:01 left, Smith blocked the shot, which was rebounded by Carleton, who proceeded to sink a crucial three-pointer with 38.3 seconds left just as the shot clock was about to expire, giving the Lynx a six-point margin after going on a 7-0 run.
Three seconds later, as Copper was driving for a layup, Smith struck again with another blocked shot. Phoenix got the rebound but the possession ended on a Taurasi missed three-point attempt. The Lynx margin was too great to overcome in such short time as the Mercury put Minnesota on the line for the duration. The final score was 102-95 in favor of Minnesota when the horn sounded.
Minnesota went 34-for-69 (49.3 percent) in field goal shooting; 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from three-point range; and 24-for-25 (96.0 percent) from the free throw line. They committed 10 turnovers which led to 17 Phoenix points.
“There was a lot of frustration along the way, starting with three minutes to go in the second quarter, running through the rest of the game. We were accustomed to being a little bit better defensively,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “We know what we didn’t get done. I’m sure the other team feels the same. That’s what makes it a fun series.”
The Mercury shot 37-for-74 (50.0 percent) from the field; 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) from three-point range; and 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from the charity stripe. They turned the ball over 11 times for 12 Minnesota points.
Minnesota Lynx forward Myisha Hines-Allen argues a call during Sunday’s WNBA Playoff Round 1 Game 1 against the Phoenix Mercury. Head coach Cheryl Reeve calls the acquisition of Hines-Allen at the trade deadline to be “crucial” to the team’s success this season. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
“I thought we really battled. I thought the last three quarters we found a rhythm. We’ve been searching for that here for a couple weeks. I’m extremely proud of our group,” said Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts. “We haven’t been as good defensively all year as we wanted so coming into the series, we knew that we would have to change some things up.”
“We’re going to have to be in coverage with our bigs. We’re going to have to try to play some zone and go into a switching package where we’re switching almost everything. Part of a series is changing it up and trying different things. Hopefully we found something in the second half with our switching,” Tibbetts added.
The Lynx held a 36-32 advantage in points-in-the-paint; a 13-10 lead in second chance points; and a 13-12 margin in fast break points. There were two ties and five lead changes.
“I think this is the epitome of what a series is and will be – which is that the game and the series are not won in the first five minutes. It’s not won in the first quarter. It’s not won in the third quarter. Its 120 minutes. This game embodied that. It wasn’t over when we had a double-figures lead. It wasn’t over when we lost the third quarter,” said Reeve. “That’s what I took from this game. This is what playoff basketball is. What it’s like to be in a series and you have to be so level-headed through the ups and downs and stay true to who you are, know what your staples are. I thought our group did a pretty good job of that.”
Minnesota was led by 38 points from Napheesa Collier, who led all scorers; 20 points from Kayla McBride; 12 points from Bridget Carleton; and 10 points from Nyisha Hines-Allen. Courtney Williams led the team with eight assists.
Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton shows emotion after hitting the three-point shot that put the game out-of-reach for the Phoenix Mercury. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
“It’s not going to be easy. This is the playoffs. Everyone is fighting for their lives and we’re playing against really good teams,” said Collier. “When we get into those situations, just staying calm and executing what we have to do on the other end, and getting stops when we come back on defense.”
Phoenix was led by Natasha Cloud’s 33 points and 10 assists; Diana Taurasi added 21 points; Kahleah Copper added 16 points; and Brittney Griner pitched in for 10 points.
“In the first quarter they hit us pretty hard. I don’t feel we responded in the first quarter. In the second quarter we started to get our momentum, then the third quarter coming out at halftime we knew we had to throw the first punch. Our goal was to get them to call the first timeout,” said Cloud.
“We upped our defensive pressure, which allowed our offense to come from our defense. When we did that it changed the whole trajectory of the second half. Our main focus was on defense knowing that if we could just get stopes, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position to win this game,” she added.
The rebounding lead was shared by five players between the two teams. Carleton, Collier and Williams each pulled down six rebounds for Minnesota, while Griner and Cloud each pulled down a half-dozen rebounds for the Mercury.
Minnesota takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Game 2 will be played at 8:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Target Center.
