The Phoenix Mercury were blown out in the first quarter and looked to have a rough road ahead of them down by as much as 23, but they put up a valiant effort by taking the lead in the fourth quarter, ultimately falling short, however, 102-95 to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA Playoffs on Sunday afternoon. Napheesa Collier had herself a day, going off for 38 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Lynx (1-0). Kayla McBride added 20 points and Bridget Carleton tacked on 12 in the massive first round series opener Natasha Cloud put the Mercury (0-1) on her back with a gigantic 33-point performance and Diana Taurasi pitched in with 21.
Collier dominates, Mercury make it a game late In possibly the final postseason run of Taurasi’s 20-year career, Phoenix wanted to start off with a bang in Game 1, but the Lynx had other ideas. Making the Associated Press’ 2024 All-WNBA First Team and named the Defensive Player of the Year earlier on Sunday, Collier backed up why she has received as many accolades as she has while also being considered one of the best players in the league. After it was 7-6 Lynx near the beginning, Minnesota went on an explosive 17-2 run and set the tone.
Collier scored 13 points by herself while the Mercury as a team had 19, with Minnesota leading 32-19 at the end of the first quarter. “This is a team that puts you in a lot of different positions with their shooting and the way they move it [the ball] side-to-side. You kind of have a choice to double her or try to stay at home.
She kind of got what she wanted at times, she was also rewarded with free throws at times,” Tibbetts said about Collier. “I thought we did a good job of guarding with hands up and they were rewarded with free throws, and we weren’t. Tip her hat, she is a First Team All W, heck of a player and she will continue to get better.
” The Mercury looked all out of sorts, needing any kind of boost to stop the high-flying Lynx. Making Target Center a fortress in the regular season, Minnesota was 16-4 at home and the momentum of its own crowd translated into the playoffs. With the odds stacked against them, the Mercury made the proper adjustments to go toe-to-toe with the Lynx from the second quarter onward.
Cloud had 18 points in the first half while Phoenix’s defense made it difficult for Minnesota to refind an offensive rhythm, going 0-for-6 as the second quarter was nearing its conclusion. Knowing how detrimental a loss is in a best-of-three playoff series, Phoenix rolled over its high energy and intensity into the second half. Drawing within just five points, Cloud and Taurasi were at the forefront of the Mercury’s promising comeback charge, combining for 54 of Phoenix’s points.
“I love playoff time. You play a 40-game season, you work your a** off to get into the playoffs and this is what it is all about,” Cloud said. “All the offseason hours that we put in, all the training camps, the ebbs and flows of the season, the injuries we all play through, this is all it is for.
When these game lights come on in the playoffs, I am just extremely focused and I am an underdog. I love coming into these games that we are just expected to lose, and go out there and hoop.” Both teams played strategically with when to and when not to shoot 3-pointers, relying on efficiency over volume.
Phoenix was 14-for-27 (51.9%) and the Lynx were 10-for-24 (41.7%) from deep.
Getting whacked in the face by Collier’s arm, Mercury rookie Celeste Taylor would leave the game in the third quarter but did return to the bench later on. Playing a major factor in the game, the Lynx received 25 free throw attempts which was lopsided to the Mercury’s 11. Not quitting whatsoever, Phoenix kept erasing the deficit until they eventually took an 86-85 lead in the fourth quarter off of two free throws by Brittney Griner.
Griner was limited to 10 points but finished with six rebounds, a steal and two blocks. When playoffs are in the air, big-time players make big-time plays and former Mercury guard Courtney Williams came in clutch for the Lynx. Producing two massive assists late, the defensively-minded Williams contributed with nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Sealing the game, a couple of head-scratching calls by the officials went the Lynx’s way and the Mercury couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. With 1:18 left on the clock and Phoenix down by only one point, 93-92, Taurasi thought she was charged into but it was ruled out due to Copper receiving a controversial personal foul away from the play, resulting in Minnesota keeping possession in crunch time. “I am not sure, there were some very questionable calls down the stretch,” Tibbetts said when criticizing the non-foul and foul.
“I haven’t had a chance to look at them, obviously I didn’t agree with either one of them. The Kah one to me was terrible, that’s a huge play in the game and I think they completely missed that.” Phoenix will now have to bounce back and win Game 2 or they will be eliminated from the postseason.
“It was a good day for us overall, I am very happy with the way that we played,” Cloud said. “I felt like in the second half, we got back to who the Phoenix Mercury are and is. Sometimes that’s what happens in a series, you lose a tough one.
The beauty of it is we have two days off and we are back at it again.” Game 2 is on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
PT in Minneapolis. This article first appeared on Burn City Sports and was syndicated with permission..
