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Unsung heroes help Lynx push Game 5

Vaseline October 19, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS — Let’s be honest: This was the outcome we all wanted.

A series – heck, a whole season – this great one deserves to go the distance, and that’s exactly what it’ll do after the Minnesota Lynx avoided elimination with an 82-80 win over the New York Liberty on Friday night.

It was a fitting performance by the Lynx. Even though Napheesa Collier is their best player, they got the number 2 seed and a spot in the finals by teaming up. Everyone contributes. Everyone gives everything they have.

And no one ever gives up.

“This team has had a unique ability to believe in themselves and each other from the beginning of the season through Game 4,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

Collier was outstanding on Friday, falling two rebounds short of a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. But the Lynx also got monster games from Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams, who was certainly in her bag. A Birkin, you know, not one from Target.

Alanna Smith and Bridget Carleton each had 12, meaning all of Minnesota’s starters finished in double figures.

“The ups and downs and things like that, this group is just equipped to deal with it,” Reeve said. “It’s just special.”

And it comes to a fitting end: the first WNBA Finals with five full games since 2019.

Here are the winners and losers of Game 4:

WINNERS

Alanna Smith

What a courageous act.

Forty-eight hours after a very hard fall in Game 3, Smith played in a lot of lower back pain on Friday and finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, a block and a pair of steals and assists. Her defensive contributions won’t show up in the stats, but she was once again strong in the paint, especially when she had to beat Jonquel Jones.

“Alanna has been in these positions for us all season,” Reeve said. “I appreciate her ability to turn around, persevere and do what her team expected of her. It is important that she visits us.”

Although Smith was clearly in labor when she ran, she was able to play for 30 minutes. Reeve said they didn’t put any minutes restrictions on her, and approached the game as if Smith was okay with them adjusting if Alanna was on the bench and sitting for too long, Reeve said. “Other than that we weren’t worried.”

Bridget Carleton

It felt fitting that one of the Lynx’s most unsung heroes got to make the game-winning shots. Carleton is, as Reeve likes to say, a “hustle play player.”

That was never more apparent than with just a few seconds left, when Carleton flew into the paint trying to recover Williams’ miss with four seconds left and the game tied at 80-80. Carleton got a hand on the ball and tapped it up, causing Sabrina Ionescu to foul and sending Carleton to the line with a chance to take the lead – which she earned by draining both free throws, which Collier called “the hardest shot in basketball’. .” Carleton finished with 12 points and numerous hustle plays, a performance Reeve called “an epitome of the year she’s had.”

Spike Lee

New York’s No. 1 basketball fan will get a chance to watch his newly adopted team, the New York Liberty, compete for a championship on their home floor, likely with Lee courtside. What more could he ask for?

A private bar

Reeve has a specific game outfit when the Lynx play at home: sports jeans, a blazer and some kind of graphic T-shirt.

During Game 4, Reeve wore a shirt from “A Bar of Their Own,” the Minneapolis bar that shows all-women’s sports — great publicity for a young, local business.

“I don’t know about these guys,” Reeve said, gesturing to Collier and McBride, “but when I’m gone, everyone talks about (us). Everyone talks to me about it: ‘I came into this bar, and this is a bar that wouldn’t have had a women’s match five years ago. All the TVs have the game on and the volume turned up, and it’s going to be a buzz.”

“Obviously, I appreciate the opportunity that A Bar of Their Own has given women to come to the forefront. … Obviously, the (Timberwolves) gave the city energy during their playoff run, and I’m really happy to see that same energy for this team, because they deserve it.

LOSERS

Players in big trouble

It’s never fun when superstars are benched in big trouble, and Friday night that was Breanna Stewart.

The Liberty’s best player looked away all night — she said Minnesota did a good job rushing her offensively — and finished with 11 points on just 5-of-21 shooting. She was also plagued with serious problems for much of the night and whistled for four personals.

Sandy Brondello’s wallet

The New York Liberty coach was is called about officiating, dropping an F-bomb and using the word “bloody” twice. Considering how even-tempered Brondello normally is, this was her version of a punch-the-wall, break-the-door rampage.

“We didn’t get a call today. Should I say something during a press conference?” Brondello said, referring to Reeve’s complaints after Game 3 that the officials had favored Stewart.

“They got tapped and we went out there and got hit and got nothing,” Brondello said. “All we want is fair. If we get hit, it’s a foul. I’m one of the nicest coaches in the league, but this pisses me off. Just be honest. If they get hit, it’s a bloody foul.’

For what it’s worth, Minnesota was called for nine fouls, while the Liberty were called for 14 fouls, four on Stewart.

Oh, the referees also apparently missed a timeout in the final minute.

Brondello said she wanted a timeout on the Liberty’s penultimate possession — that’s where the F-bomb came in — but didn’t get one because officials couldn’t hear her. Stewart was eventually whistled for a shot-clock violation, the Lynx gained possession and Carleton was fouled under the basket. She scored both to seal the win.

“They didn’t hear me. So that’s on me,” Brondello said of the timeout. “Maybe next time I should sprint onto the field.”

Drama seekers

For a minute, it looked like some major UConn drama was brewing, with Geno Auriemma at the center of it.

After the game, Collier was asked about a text message Stewart supposedly received from their old coach, telling her to drop 50 on the Minnesota Lynx in Game 4. That would be problematic because Collier, the Lynx’s star player, also played for UConn.

With Stewart no less. On a team that won a national title.

“It looks like he wants them to win. He doesn’t text me,” Collier said. “Looks like I need to text him about some things now.”

Especially considering she had 14 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four assists in the Lynx’s 82-80 win, which forced a Game 5.

“Wow, Husky drama,” said Lynx teammate McBride, who played at Notre Dame. “Go Irish!”

Unfortunately it wasn’t true. There was no texting Stewart, no taking sides.

I think the annual reunion can go ahead as planned.

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Unsung heroes help Lynx push Game 5