Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, left, guards Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas during the second half of Game 4 in the WNBA basketball semifinals on Oct. 6 in Uncasville, Conn.Jessica Hill/The Associated Press
With the season on the line, Alyssa Thomas and Ty Harris helped Connecticut force a decisive Game 5.
Thomas had 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to help the Sun stave off elimination and beat the Minnesota Lynx 92-82 on Sunday in their semi-final series. The victory set up a winner-take-all fifth game Tuesday night in Minnesota.
“Both of these, franchises have been here, right? We have a lot of players on our roster that have been here that understand certainly what it takes and tonight’s effort is not going to be good enough,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said.
“We expect them to make adjustments. We’ll make some tweaks and adjustments as well. … It’s about players making plays. It’s about the extra efforts, the hustle plays. It’s about not being denied and finding something deep inside of you that just allows you to come out on top.”
The winner will face the Liberty in the WNBA Finals that start Thursday in New York. The Lynx and the Liberty already met for a championship this season with Minnesota beating New York for the Commissioner’s Cup title.
Harris was inserted back into the starting lineup for the first time since injuring her ankle in Game 1 in the opening round series against Indiana. She responded with 20 points to lead the Sun, who now will try to return to the Finals for the third time in six seasons. The Sun still are looking for the franchise’s first WNBA championship.
White said she let Harris know at shootaround in the morning. She only played about seven minutes in Games 2 and 3, but was able to play 30 on Sunday and was a difference maker.
“Stay composed, be poised and be ready when your number is called,” said Harris, who was scoreless in her limited minutes in Games 2 and 3.
Napheesa Collier did what she could to try to get Minnesota the win, finishing with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
“We’re not happy with, you know, how we came out the last two games. Our offence was able to lift us up last game, but if that’s not working, we have to rely on our defence,” Collier said. “It’s not been good last two games. So we have to go home and defend our home court. We’re both playing for our lives, so we have to play at that level of intensity.”
Minnesota is trying to get back to the Finals for the first time since the 2017 season. That year, the Lynx won their fourth championship in a span of seven years.
The Sun rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit behind Thomas and Harris. The game was tied at 61 before the Sun scored seven of the final nine points of the third quarter to go up 68-63 heading into the fourth.
Harris’ 3-pointer with 5:48 left made it a 10-point game and quashed any hopes the Lynx had of finishing off the series Sunday. Minnesota was only able to get within eight the rest of the way.
“Typical AT, she’s a stat stuffer, steps up in big moments,” White said. “Put the ball in her hands a lot. made plays for herself and others. We ask her to do a lot for us on both ends of the floor. We got a lot from her and continue to need to get a lot from everybody moving forward.”
Collier helped the Lynx build a seven-point lead after one quarter and Minnesota was up 47-41 when DiJonai Carrington stole the ball from Natisha Hiedeman and took it in for a layup. Hiedeman answered by hitting a 3-pointer from just inside half court right before the buzzer to give the Lynx a 50-43 lead at the break. Collier finished the first half with 14 points and Hiedeman had 12 against her former team.