WNBA Finals Takeaways: Lynx narrowly escape thriller to force Game 5

Feel free to exhale now Lynx fans.

Sabrina Ionescu had the ball in her hands with a chance to sink a winner in the final seconds, just like Game 3. But this time, the Minnesota Lynx survived to force a winner-take-all Game 5.

Through 14 lead changes, single-digit deficits and more clutch moments than you can ask for, the Lynx came away with the win in the tightest game of the series so far, edging out the Liberty 82-80 on Friday to send the series back to New York on Sunday.

There’s absolutely nothing better than more basketball, even more so when these Finals have been nothing short of an instant classic.

Here are some takeaways from a teeth-clenching Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

Canada’s Carleton comes in clutch

It’s been a quiet series for Canadian sharpshooter Bridget Carleton.

The Chatham, Ont., native is averaging 9.8 points this series. Certainly nothing to scoff at but also nothing to write home about.

She seemed to take a step at the start of Game 3, scoring 10 first-half points, but come crunch time, Carleton’s offence has really tailed off. Entering Game 4, she had only scored six second-half points this series.

But when the Lynx needed her most in Game 4, she showed up, finishing with nine second-half points including a massive three-pointer with three minutes left to put Minnesota up five. But most importantly, Carleton had a massive offensive rebound and put-back attempt to draw a foul with two seconds left in a tied game.

Without breaking a sweat, the former Iowa State product nailed her two free throws to break the tie, continuing a run from the charity stripe that has been spotless since Game 2 of the first round.

Then on the other end, Carleton was given the Sabrina Ionescu assignment — perhaps the scariest player to defend in the world right now — and she played it to perfection, trailing her perfectly around a screen, closing down on her as soon as she got the inbound and staying up straight on the heave to not draw a foul.

Carleton had her number called on both ends with the game and the series on the line and, as she’s done all year, she delivered.

Courtney Williams in her Birkin

“I’m in the Birkin right now. I gotta make sure I don’t drop down to a Target bag. I gotta stay in my Birkin.”

Courtney Williams delivered the quote of the WNBA Finals as she walked to the tunnel at half-time while talking with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

Up to that point in the game, she had already transcended past the stages of fanny pack, canvas bag, tote bag, Kate Spade purse, Louis Vuitton purse and was all the way deep into her Birkin with 13 impressive points and three assists, carving up the Liberty and embarrassing her defenders.

Though Williams cooled off in the second half, adding only two more points to her total, her playmaking and shot-creating took another step with four assists after the break, including some wicked dimes to Alanna Smith. And those passes always seemed to come when the Lynx needed it most.

Williams was shifty all night, her bag was ludicrously capacious and no matter the assignment — whether it be Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot or Sabrina Ionescu — she found ways to break them down. She was the exact player the Lynx needed when they added her in free agency ahead of the season and she’s the reason they’re heading back to New York.

Brondello not pleased with officiating

Officiating is suddenly top of mind for both coaches in the WNBA Finals.

Following the Game 3 loss, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters that she believed Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier were being officiated differently, with the referees favouring the Liberty star.

“The game’s called differently for ‘Phee than it is for Stewie, for sure,” Reeve said on Wednesday, per Winsidr’s Myles Ehrlich. “For whatever reason, we have a hard time getting to the foul line in this series.”

Then Collier, in an interview with FanDuel TV’s Run It Back on Thursday, echoed the sentiment, saying that she wasn’t getting the same calls in Game 3. However, she made sure not to pin all the blame for the loss on the refs, admitting that the missed shots still fall on her.

All the officiating discourse from the Lynx seems to have worked. The Liberty were on the other side of the whistle in this one and were called for 14 fouls to Minnesota’s nine. The Lynx also shot 20 free throws to the Liberty’s nine, including the all-too-important game-sealing opportunities.

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello retaliated post-game.

“We got no calls today,” Brondello said. “So do I need to talk up in a press conference? Because they’re getting ticky-tacks, and we went down there and got hit and got nothing. … All we want is fair. So if we’re getting hit, that’s a foul.

“I’m one of the nicest bloody coaches in this league but this pisses me off. Just be fair. If they’re getting hit it’s a bloody foul.”

If the complaining works for one coach, no harm in the other coach trying it too.

Sabrina and Stewie struggle

Officiating is one thing, but the real problem for the Liberty on Friday was the lack of production from their two superstars, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart.

There’s something to be said for leaving it all out there on the floor. The tandem certainly did that in the massive comeback win in Game 3. It’s hard to conjure up more magic after a once-in-a-lifetime shot like the one Ionescu hit.

But Friday was a brutal showing for the players New York needs to be at their best.

Stewart finished with 11 points on five for 21 from the field and Ionescu had 10 points on five for 15 shooting. They combined for six turnovers and went 0-for-9 from deep.

The rest of the Liberty were playing lights out, and a good performance from just one of those two stars would’ve likely meant the win and the title for New York. Outside of the duo, the starting five for the Liberty scored 50 points on 18 for 29 from the field and eight for 13 from three-point range.

Jonquel Jones played especially well, not missing her first shot until the 9:44 mark in the fourth quarter. She finished with a game-high 21 points and her long-range shooting proved just how dangerous the Liberty can be when all five starters find their rhythm from deep.

But two players weren’t in rhythm and it may have cost the Liberty dearly. This game was a chance for the Liberty to clinch the title, and though the series has been defined by the heroics of the two, should they be offbeat again in Game 5, Ionescu’s clutch three-pointers and Stewart’s incredible two-way play will have meant nothing.

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