Mercury Rally from 20 Down to Stun Lynx in OT, Even WNBA Semifinal Series
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Satou Sabally scored 11 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, and Alyssa Thomas added 19 points and 13 assists as the Phoenix Mercury stormed back from a 20-point deficit to defeat the Minnesota Lynx 89-83 in overtime on Tuesday night, tying the WNBA semifinal series at 1-1.
“We’re confident in us, and we’ve been battling all season long,” said Sabally, who hit 5 of 11 from beyond the arc. “You can’t give up a basketball game if you’re down.”
Phoenix forced overtime in dramatic fashion. After an airball by Sami Whitcomb, Thomas kept the play alive, and Whitcomb redeemed herself by draining a corner three with four seconds left in regulation to tie it at 79.
“And they still trust me to make that shot,” said Whitcomb, who finished with 13 points.
Minnesota had a chance to win in regulation, but Napheesa Collier’s jumper at the buzzer came up short.
“They ripped the game from us,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, frustrated with her team’s lack of composure. The Lynx committed four unforced turnovers in just 65 seconds during the third quarter, a stretch that helped spark Phoenix’s comeback.
The 20-point rally was the third-largest in WNBA playoff history and marked the Mercury’s first postseason win in Minnesota after 10 straight losses there.
Thomas, who recorded a triple-double in Phoenix’s first-round Game 3 win over defending champion New York, was the catalyst again. After a quiet first half, she energized the Mercury, ending a 33-minute stretch in which the Lynx held the lead with a crucial three-point play with 3:32 left in the fourth.
“A lot of teams would’ve packed it in,” said Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts. “Not this group.”
Collier led the Lynx with 24 points on her 29th birthday, but struggled after halftime, making just three shots and going 2-for-8 from deep. Kayla McBride added 21 points and Courtney Williams had 20 points and nine assists, but Minnesota’s bench was outscored 25-3— a key factor in their first playoff loss this year.
Phoenix trailed 48-32 at halftime but returned from the locker room with new energy, going on a 12-0 run in the third quarter that erased the Lynx’s lead in a hurry. They narrowed the gap to two possessions by mid-fourth quarter.
“You have to play like that to get back in the game, and that’s exactly what they did,” said Collier.
Even after Thomas’s three-point play brought Phoenix within two, the Lynx were still ahead by five with under a minute to go. But a costly five-second violation on an inbounds play gave Phoenix the ball, and Thomas cut the lead to one with a floater. The Mercury took it from there in overtime.
“We just could not get that way about us to win the game,” Reeve admitted.
The Mercury, playing their fourth game in seven days, will host Game 3 of the best-of-five series on Friday night.
