It's do or die Friday night for the Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. The Lynx trail the New York Liberty 2-1in the best of five series.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve talked after the team's loss in Game 3 about the emotions a series like this can bring.
"It's important that you don't get too high when you win and too low when you lose," says Reeve who has led Minnesota to four previous championships. "And that's, it's really hard. It's really, really hard, but we gotta dust ourselves off and get another crack at it here at home with our tremendous fans. And, you know, we'll see what we can do on Friday."
The Lynx all-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier said after Game 3's loss in the final seconds at home that there's is plenty they can improve going into Game 4.
"I'm excited to look at film and see what we can do better," said Collier. "I do think this is our best defense in these two games against New York. So I'm proud of us for that. But I think just executing more on the offensive end. But it feels amazing. The crowd was awesome, to play at home in the finals is such a rush. So definitely looking forward to the next game."
Game 4 is Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Target Center. It'll air on ESPN. Game 5 would happen Sunday in New York.
As for New York, they're riding high after Sabrina Ionescu’s thrilling game-winning shot with a second left in Game 3 on Wednesday night, a shot that will certainly go down as one of the best in WNBA Finals history (along with Maya Moore's three point winner in Game 3 of the 2015 series between Minnesota and Indiana that the Lynx eventually won in five).
Four teams have been able to rally from 2-1 deficits to win a championship — the last being Minnesota in 2017. Lynx Assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson was on that squad and talked to the team after the loss Wednesday night.
“There’s a lot of experience that we try to impart on them,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I did remind them how special they are and that we’ve answered every challenging situation whether it’s a run in the game or any part of the season. Friday isn’t going to be any different. We’re going to answer the call for sure.”
The Lynx might have to do it without forward Alanna Smith, who was a key addition to the squad this season. She injured her back in Game 3 and played a gutty 20 minutes. She had to sit out the final six minutes when New York got the victory.
Smith said that she was going to play.
“I’ve been taking some anti-inflammatories, some painkillers,” Smith said.
Despite the loss, the Lynx are still a confident bunch. They shot 19 for 55 after the first quarter on Wednesday night, missing some really good looks in the final few minutes of the game.
“For sure we are confident still,” Courtney Williams said. “Watching the film, we know that those are shots we definitely can make.”
GAME FOUR PREVIEW
New York Liberty (32-8, 16-4 Eastern Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (30-10, 14-6 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Friday, 7:00 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Lynx play the New York Liberty.
The Lynx are 16-4 in home games. Minnesota ranks second in the Western Conference with 26.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Napheesa Collier averaging 7.5.
The Liberty are 16-4 on the road. New York scores 85.6 points while outscoring opponents by 9.1 points per game.
Minnesota makes 44.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.3 percentage points higher than New York has allowed to its opponents (42.5%). New York has shot at a 44.8% rate from the field this season, 3.8 percentage points higher than the 41.0% shooting opponents of Minnesota have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Collier is scoring 20.4 points per game with 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Lynx.
Sabrina Ionescu is averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 assists for the Liberty.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lynx: 6-4, averaging 84.8 points, 29.9 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.9 points per game.
Liberty: 7-3, averaging 82.6 points, 35.6 rebounds, 19.5 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.5 points.
INJURIES: Lynx: None listed.
Liberty: None listed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.