The Guru’s WNBA Playoffs Roundup: Las Vegas Cruises Over Indiana While Phoenix Erases 20-Point Deficit to No. 1 Minnesota to Each Tie the Best-of-Five Semis 1-1

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

On Tuesday in the WNBA best-of-five semifinals, both Game 2 sites saw their respective series go even up 1-1 as 2-seed Las Vegas at home looked like the powerhouse that ran off 17 straight wins through the first round opener in a 90-68 victory against 6-seed Indiana before a crowd of 10,516 in Michelob ULTRA Arena while over in the Midwest 4-seed Phoenix pulled the stunning rally act on the road overcoming a 20-point deficit to beat top-seed Minnesota 89-83 in overtime before a crowd of 10,824 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

“When the pressure starts to escalate, I know they know how to cook under pressure,” said Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said of her team’s recovery from Sunday’s upset loss. “So, I just trust them. I'm fiery over there. I'm Italian. I can't help it, but they're cool under pressure.”

Earlier Tuesday after defending champion New York, seeded fifth, failed to make it out of the first round losing to Phoenix Friday on the road in decisive Game 3, Liberty management fired coach Sandy Brondello.

Back in the semifinals, for now, the two under-seeds will have home court advantage the next two games on Friday and Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis beginning with Game 3 at 7.30 p.m. Friday night and followed by Phoenix at 9:30 p.m. in PHX Arena, both on ESPN2.

Whoever wins those two contests will be in position to advance to the expanded best-of-seven Finals by completing 2-0 sweeps on Sunday afternoon and night.

Lynx Suffer Rare Massive Meltdown Losing to Mercury

Coming into the first round Minnesota had outpaced the league all season finishing at 34-10 and four games in front of the second-place duo of Las Vegas and Atlanta.

The Lynx were the only team to advance to the semifinals with a 2-0 sweep, though it went down to the very end before defeating the expansion Golden State Valkyries 75-74 on the road.

On Sunday Minnesota had recovered from a lackluster first half to stymie Phoenix 82-69 and roared into the third period Tuesday building a 59-39 lead with with 5:45 left in the quarter before the Mercury began chipping away.

Kathryn Westbeld’s 3-pointer shaved the deficit to eight points at 62-54 heading into the final ten minutes in an arena in which Phoenix had not won in ten earlier attempts.

The surge continued with Satou Sabally scoring 11 of her 24 points for Phoenix in the fourth quarter and she was 5-11 on 3-point attempts in the game while Maryland alum Alyssa Thomas out of Harrisburg, whose entire WNBA career had been with the Connecticut Sun before this season, finished with 19 points 13 assists.

The comeback was greased in the third period with four unforced turnovers committed by the Lynx.

“They ripped the game from us,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle standout from South Jersey.

Down three with four seconds left in regulation after Sami Whitcomb missed an attempted shot from the top of the key to force overtime the Mercury on the ensuing offensive board gave her another chance from the wing and she sank it to send the game in overtime after MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier’s jumper was short.

“And they still trust me to make that shot,” said Whitcomb, who finished with 13 points.

Thomas’ and-one play with 3:32 left in regulation brought Phoenix to finish erasing a span of 33:28 in which Minnesota held the lead.

“We’re confident in us, and we've been battling all season long,” Sabally said. “You Can't give up a basketball game if you're down.”

The rally was third longest in playoffs history.

“A lot of teams would have packed it in,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts, who along with Reeve and Las Vegas’ Hammon are the only coaches left on the same teams from the 2024 season following the dismissal of Seattle’s Noelle Quinn and New York’s Brondello in the last two days while Stephanie White switched from Connecticut to Indiana in the offseason.

Collier matched Sabally’s 24 points for the Lynx, the loss ruining her 29th birthday, while Kayla McBride scored 21 and Courtney Williams collected 20 points with nine assists, but the Minnesota bench was outscored by a lopsided total 25-3.

“You have to play like that to get back in the game, and that's exactly what they did,” Collier said of the Mercury change in attitude after the break.

The Lynx might have won in regulation had they not been charged with a 5-second inbound violation with 46 seconds left.

Thomas then scored for Phoenix to cut it to one and the Lynx got it back to three on a pair of free throws before Whitcomb’s shot to tie the game.

Ace’s Wilson Leads Attack on Fever

In Las Vegas, the Aces’ A’ja Wilson, the WNBA’s first four-time MVP, easily finishing ahead of Collier and Thomas, scored 25 points with nine boards and a personal playoff best five steals.

Going into August, Las Vegas was struggling to stay within the eight-team cutoff for the playoffs in the 13-team league, a span ending with a WNBA all-time worst 53-point home loss 111-58 to Minnesota before the 17-game win streak began the next day.

“I think Game 2, we just decided to come to work,” Wilson said. “When we do that and we play the right way, good things happen. I don't necessarily think (the opener) was a wake-up call. I told my team was embarrassed less than the 53-point loss. No one panicked.”

NaLyssa Smith, a past Fever player, shot 7-9 from the field and scored 18 points for the Aces, Jackie Young collected 13 points, Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans each scored 10, and Chelsea Gray dealt 10 assists.

Indiana’s Odyssey Sims scored 18, while Lexie Hull scored 15, Kelsey Mitchell was held to 13 points after scoring 34 in Sunday’s upset and Aliyah Boston limited to 10.

“The reality is they came in, and they were physical, and they dictated,” Indiana's White said. “We were on our heels, and we were passive, and we were reactive to everything. Twenty-eight points off of turnovers, 14 points off of offensive rebounds. They are too good.

“We can't spot them 42,” White said.

 “They've been world champions (‘22 and ‘23) for a reason. They have a mentality they know exactly how to compete at this stage at this level. We've got to be able to respond, and we've got to be able to rise to that challenge.”

The Fever entered the playoffs with five players, led by 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, out with season-ending injuries and a sixth in concussion protocol.

Clark was ruled out just before the playoffs but only played 13 games all season and hadn’t played since July 14 dealing with a right groin pull.

She was injury free her stellar collegiate career at Iowa and WNBA rookie season.

Hull was doubtful for Tuesday night due to a back injury and wore a brace when seated on the bench.

“I'm feeling sore still,” she said. “Part of the playoffs, I think, for everyone. End of the season, everyone's a little fatigued, everyone's a little sore.”