Tuesday night's 89-83 overtime loss to Phoenix Mercury wasn't just any regular defeat; it was the kind that makes Minnesota Lynx fans check their record books twice because surely this can't be real. This was the first time in WNBA history that Minnesota lost a playoff game after leading by double digits at halftime. Even crazier? It was the first time they'd lost any game, regular season or playoffs, while being up by 16 or more at the half.
Head coach Cheryl Reeve didn't mince words about what happened when Phoenix turned up the heat: “Our response to it was very uncharacteristic,” Reeve said, adding, “We weren't tough enough and they ripped the game from us.”
Ready to respond
During Friday's pregame conference for Game 3, head coach Cheryl Reeve talked about how the Lynx players have put Tuesday's loss behind them. The team wanted to play sooner, having had 48 hours to stew about the collapse. “This is our life, this is what happens, it doesn't always go your way,” she said, adding, “We'll see how we respond to them.”
The Lynx came into this series as the top seed after running through the regular season like they owned the place. They had a 20-point lead that somehow disappeared faster than your motivation on a Monday morning. Phoenix's Satou Sabally went off for 10 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, while Alyssa Thomas ran the show with 19 points and 13 assists.
But here's the thing that'll keep Lynx fans up at night: they were leading 77-72 with just one minute left. One minute! And struggled with a crucial inbound play that could have sealed the game.
Players react
When asked what shifted for Phoenix as they started the third quarter, Napheesa Collier said with a serious expression, “Their level of aggression. They were down almost 20, so you have to play like that to get back in the game.”
On what could have made the difference, Collier was direct: “We had a lot of turnovers, so cutting back on that would've been a huge difference.” The Lynx finished with 17 in Game 2.
Looking ahead
Now the series heads to Phoenix for Game 3 tonight at 8:30 p.m. CT, and Lynx fans are doing what fans do best — rallying on social media. Twitter is full of posts saying stuff like “Minnesota Lynx, imma need you to remember who you are tonight.”
The series, now tied 1-1, presents Minnesota with a choice: remember who they are or continue writing chapters in the WNBA record book that no one particularly wants to read.
For a team that had won 14 of its last 16 games entering the playoffs, Tuesday's meltdown feels less like a trend and more like a bad dream. The kind you wake up from wondering if it really happened, except the box score doesn't lie, and the internet never forgets.
Tonight in Phoenix, Minnesota gets its first shot to prove Tuesday was just one of those nights. Because in playoff basketball, you're only as good as your last game, and this team has shown all season that they know how to bounce back.
