The table is set for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals Wednesday at Target Center. Minnesota and New York are tied with one win apiece in the best of five series. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve says her team knows the series has been an uphill climb, having led for just over three minutes in the first two games.
"We're down, New York is playing harder and better than us in those moments," says Reeve. "I think their belief and buy in to the idea it's a long series, it's 200 minutes, yeah, it's 205, and that you just got to keep playing. And so their belief in their ability to play through it and problem-solve is what makes this thing special."
Reeve says her team knows how important these next two games are, with the chance to close out the series Friday at home.
"They understand, like two games at home, but I think it's getting ahead of yourself," Reeve explained. "We really are locked in on the first five minutes of Game 3. The message is, you know, it's a best of three. Now you want Game 1 of a best of three, about how we go about our business in the first five minutes in the first quarter in the first half is going to dictate everything."
COURTNEY WILLIAMS WILL BE KEY FOR THE LYNX
The Minnesota Lynx had just beaten the New York Liberty to win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup earlier this season, and their next game was a noon start in Dallas.
Courtney Williams just wasn’t into it.
The ninth-year veteran went through the motions in that loss to a Wings team that wound up with the league’s second-worst record, and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve let her point guard have it.
“We don’t pay you just to play at 7 p.m. If we have a game at noon, we pay you to play then, too,” Reeve said, recalling her message that day.
Williams shot 1 for 6 and had four turnovers. Reeve told her she felt she gave in to the fatigue.
“I told her I would never do that again. You will never have to worry about that again,” Williams said. “I think from that moment, I invited hard.”
Williams went so far as to declare that stern conversation changed her life, an assessment she reiterated again this week when she and Reeve spoke upon the team’s return from New York. The Lynx split the first two games of the WNBA Finals with the Liberty. Game 3 is in Minnesota on Wednesday night.
“Some players aren’t held accountable like that,” Reeve said. “She’s an exceptional listener, and the coachabilty is off the charts.”
That’s one reason Reeve targeted Williams in free agency. Another was her experience. Then there’s the play-making skill the Lynx needed to relieve the defensive intensity around star Napheesa Collier and set up outside shooters Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton.
Including the four-point play that completed Minnesota’s comeback from an 18-point deficit in Game 1, Williams had 23 points to open the best-of-five series. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello put it succinctly: “Courtney Williams was a thorn in our side. She was the head of the snake.”
Drafted by the Phoenix Mercury eighth overall in 2016 out of South Florida, Williams made the Lynx her fifth team — and fourth in four years — when she signed with them before this season. The native of Georgia had barely begun her rookie year when she was traded, ironically by Brondello, to the Connecticut Sun to start a winding journey around the league.
She had some stellar performances in the playoffs for the Sun over the years, but she never got to experience the thrill of a championship there. This season, playing for a coach in Reeve who guided the Lynx to four titles between 2011 and 2017, Williams has come tantalizingly close to finally getting a ring.
In nine games in these playoffs, she’s averaging 14.9 points and shooting 57.9% from 3-point range.
“Everything you’ve got in your bag, it’s time to pull it out,” Williams said Tuesday after the Lynx practiced at Target Center. “I guess I’m built different. I love the moment. I don’t shy away from the moment at all. All my life, since rec league, I always want the ball in my hand when it’s time to go make a play.”
Despite holding a lead for a total of roughly five minutes over the first two games, the Lynx flipped the home-court advantage. They will also host Game 4 on Friday night and, even though their team chemistry has been exceptional, they have no interest in hopping on another flight to New York for Game 5.
“We always believed it from the beginning. We have a great group,” Williams said. “Yeah, it’s hard. We understand that it’s hard. But we invite hard. We love hard.”
The Liberty deftly recovered from their collapse in Game 1 to take immediate control of Game 2 and follow through with a strong finish.
“The same things that Sandy felt after Game 1, we felt after Game 2,” Reeve said.
The Lynx were focused intently on preparing to play much better in the game’s opening five minutes.
“Don’t wait and let someone else strike first,” Reeve said.
Playing behind a loud crowd should help.
“It’s not going to get any easier from here. This is the Finals,” said Liberty star Breanna Stewart. “It’s only going to get harder, but we’re excited for the atmosphere where nobody’s cheering for us and everybody’s cheering against us.”
GAME 3 PREVIEW
New York Liberty (32-8, 16-4 Eastern Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (30-10, 14-6 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Target Center
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Liberty -3; over/under is 160.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Lynx host the New York Liberty.
The Lynx have gone 16-4 in home games. Minnesota is fourth in the Western Conference scoring 82.0 points while shooting 44.8% from the field.
The Liberty are 16-4 on the road. New York leads the WNBA averaging 10.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 34.9% from downtown. Sabrina Ionescu leads the team averaging 2.8 makes while shooting 33.2% from 3-point range.
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 greater than the 41.0% shooting opponents of Minnesota have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Courtney Williams is averaging 11.1 points and 5.5 assists for the Lynx.
Ionescu is averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 assists for the Liberty.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lynx: 6-4, averaging 82.2 points, 29.5 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.7 points per game.
Liberty: 7-3, averaging 83.3 points, 36.8 rebounds, 20.1 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.9 points.
INJURIES: Lynx: None listed.
Liberty: None listed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.