WNBA Finals: Lynx tip Liberty and extend their season to winner-take-all Game 5

Bridget Carleton’s two free throws with two seconds left wins another nail-biter in WNBA Finals.

By Mike Cook, Pioneer Press – October 19, 2024

Forty likely heart-pounding minutes.

That’s how close the Minnesota Lynx are to the franchise’s fifth WNBA title.

Bridget Carleton made a pair of free throws with 2 seconds left and the Lynx were able to stave off elimination by beating New York 82-80 on Friday in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals in front of 19,210 boisterous fans at Target Center.

A winner-take-all Game 5 is Sunday night in Brooklyn.

“The last 40 minutes of the season it could be anywhere really,” said Lynx guard Kayla McBride. “It doesn’t matter. It’s like we’re gonna be out there together going to war and I’m pumped.”

Said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, “Elite players play, they love the environment, they’re not affected by the environment, and that’s why you see this series as being what it has winning on each other’s court.”

How close is this series? New York scored the final 12 points of Game 2 to win by 14; the other three games have been decided by a combined seven points.

“We haven’t won anything yet, we haven’t lost anything yet and we have the opportunity to do that Sunday,” said Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.

Four teams have won a WNBA crown after being down 2-1 in the finals. The last? Minnesota in 2017.

Out of a timeout after a New York shot clock violation with 18.3 seconds to play, the game tied at 80, and “Gonna Fly Now” from “Rocky” reverberating through the arena before play resumed, Courtney Williams missed a jumper with 4.1 seconds left, but Carleton grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Sabrina Ionescu.

She calmly made her two foul shots.

“That’s the hardest shot in basketball, honestly, it’s free throws at the end of the game. To knock those down at a big moment shows exactly who we see,” said Lynx forward Napheesa Collier.

“It’s an epitome of the year that she’s had and how important she’s been to this team,” Reeve said. “She’s a hustle-play player. That was on display, giving herself a chance to maybe either put it in or get fouled. That’s just what she does every day we’re around her, she’s the same and you can always count on her to be there for you.”

A desperation 3-pointer by Ionescu was off the mark. She hit a 28-foot 3-pointer with 1 second left to win Wednesday’s Game 3.

Neither team led by more than six points in a game that felt like a title fight and had 14 lead changes and 13 ties.

All five Lynx starters finished with double-figure scoring, with McBride netting a team-high 19 points, including a trio of treys. Williams had 15 and Collier had 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals, setting a WNBA Finals record with four straight games with at least three steals.

Probably the heart and soul of Minnesota’s game was Alanna Smith. The center gutted her way through an injured back and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in more than 30 minutes of action. She, too, was big late, contesting a tip by Stewart with 30 seconds left.

“All season long Lan has been in those positions for us. I just appreciate her ability to turn around, buck up and do what her team needed her to do,” Reeve said.

Two of New York’s top three weapons were borderline AWOL much of the night. Stewart and Ionescu were a combined 10 of 36 from the field. Stewart finished with 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting, although she grabbed 11 rebounds; Ionescu had 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting. She missed all five 3-point attempts.