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

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

“I wish I knew,” Reeve said. “I would either not sleep, or I would sleep very well. They are two great teams. Who knows?”

This was a series of responses to heavy losses. On Friday it was Minnesota’s turn at Target Center. The Lynx won 82-80 on two Bridget Carleton free throws 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 win.

With a chance on Friday to secure their first WNBA title in franchise history, the Liberty came up short and must now once again be the team that bounces back from disappointment.

New York did that in Game 2 with an 80-66 win, which followed a crushing 95-93 Game 1 loss in overtime. Those two games took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as did Sunday’s game.

“We’re coming back from a loss really well and making sure everyone is on the same page going forward,” New York’s Breanna Stewart said. “In the playoffs there will be momentum shifts in a series. There were momentum shifts in the game tonight.”

But Game 4 was the most exciting in this series for 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 three-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 received a shot clock violation. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was angry with the referee after the game, noting that she tried to force a timeout during that stretch but was not heard.

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

Carleton was a second-round draft selection out of Iowa State by Connecticut in 2019 and was waived by the Sun in her rookie season. Minnesota picked her up and she found a home with the Lynx. This was 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 in the regular season.

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

“I think it epitomizes 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 real hustler, so it showed. 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 WNBA first-team selections, Friday was another uphill battle as they often guarded each other. Stewart was 5 of 21 from the field for 11 points, and Collier 4 of 10 for 14.

“We’re both great players,” Collier said. “It’s going to be harder and harder every time to get the shots you normally get.”

Sunday will mark the ninth meeting of 2024 between Collier and Stewart – who were teammates at UConn and USA Basketball – and the Lynx and Liberty. And it will be the last, the game that will decide whether 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 a part of, either as an assistant with Detroit (2006, 2007) or head coach of the Lynx (2015, 2016, 2017, 2024). In 2006, 2015 and 2017 she was on the winning side. Will that also be the case on Sunday?

“I feel very blessed in my career to have had the opportunity to be a part of so many,” Reeve said. “I didn’t win them all. I think I’m just really happy that this group gets to experience a Game 5.

“It’s incomprehensible how we feel about this team, and we wanted so badly for them to be in the finals No. 1 and 2 so that they could put themselves in a position to win a championship. And that’s exactly what we did.”