Lynx face ‘do-or-die’ Game 4 at home on Friday night

“Our defense gave us a chance to win the game,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said during the postgame press conference. “Our defense gave us a chance to win the game, period. Our offense has got to help our defense.”

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Save for Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s iconic game-winning 3-pointer with one second to go, the Lynx were almost always able to get a defensive stop when they needed one. Failure to make New York pay when they had the ball in their hands — shooting 19-for-55 from the field after the first quarter — doomed the Lynx. Had the offense generated just one more timely bucket the Lynx could be playing for a championship on Friday night — instead, they’re playing to keep their season alive. 

“I’ll have to look at the film,” Reeve said. “I know when I was watching it live, I liked some of the shots that we were getting. I’ve seen our players make those shots. You know, it’s not to sit here and say that New York doesn’t get credit for their defense. They are a good defensive team. I’ll have to watch it, but I felt like we got some good opportunities.”

The opportunities were a’plenty in the first quarter, when the Lynx were able to get off to a hot start, something they couldn’t do in Games 1 and 2. Minnesota’s stifling defense forced eight Liberty turnovers in the opening frame and turned them into 14 of their 28 first quarter points. Kayla McBride powered the strong start with 10 of her 19 points in the quarter and the Lynx held a 28-18 lead after ten minutes played.

As the game progressed, the Lynx offense started to run dry and they couldn’t manufacture enough points to hold off a furious New York rally led by Breanna Stewart, who scored 22 of her game-high 30 points in the second half. 

“I feel like they were making plays at the end of shot clocks and like Coach said, we were getting really good looks,” Napheesa Collier said in the postgame press conference. “We just weren’t executing on the offensive end. It’s just hard when you get that and then obviously they are a great offensive team and, like Coach said in the locker room, it just puts a lot of pressure on our defense. I think we just need to make more shots, honestly.”

A silver lining on the black cloud day for Minnesota is that Collier’s 22 points put her up to 249 in this postseason. She now holds the record for most points scored in a single postseason, eclipsing Diana Taurasi’s 245 points during the 2009 WNBA playoffs. 

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Playing without Alanna Smith

It didn’t help that the Lynx had to play just over half the game without starting center Alanna Smith. Smith got in foul trouble early and also injured her back defending Liberty center Jonquel Jones under the basket in the second quarter. Adding insult to injury, Smith got whistled for her third foul on the play and spent the remainder of the first half on the bench.

“Obviously give credit to Lan. She did what she could do,” Reeve said. “We were +20 when she was on the floor, so it obviously hurt. Our starting five is a really good starting five, and you know, not having Lan, foul trouble, and then just not feeling like she could go put us in a bit of a bind. You know, we tried different things, a little bit of a small lineup to see if we could spread the floor and get some easier shots, but that didn’t produce itself either. We need our starters, just like they need their starters.”

The Lynx may get their star center and WNBA second-team All-Defensive selection back for Game 4. After the Lynx practiced on Thursday morning, Smith told reporters she expects to be on the floor on Friday night. 

“The plan is to play,” Smith said. “It’s not every day you’re in the WNBA Finals, so just going to push through whatever it is.” 

Back pain is the latest entry on the season-long list of injury issues Smith has had to power through. She was clearly in a lot of pain after she turned her ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 1 while setting a screen on Jones, but managed to finish the game and play over 30 minutes in Game 2. 

“I don’t know [what’s bothering me the most], it’s all just adding to the list isn’t it,” Smith said Thursday. “At this point … it’s not even worth thinking about. It’s for postseason me [to think about].” 

Smith and the Lynx have until Friday evening to rest and prepare for a Liberty team that is now 40 minutes of winning basketball away from its first championship in franchise history. Minnesota hasn’t lost three consecutive games all season and, to keep the season going, they’ll need to keep it that way.

“I mean, I’m okay,” Smith said. “I think at this point in the season, everyone’s a little bit sore. Maybe some more than others, but as I was saying before, we’re in the WNBA Finals, we’re going to push through whatever it is.”