Minnesota Lynx defeat Connecticut Sun to record seventh WNBA Finals appearance

CNN
—

The Minnesota Lynx defeated the Connecticut Sun in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals on Tuesday. With the 88-77 win, the Lynx secured a date with the New York Liberty in the NBA Finals.

In a back-and-forth series characterized by close games, there was a rare defeat on Tuesday evening. To the cheers of their home crowd at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the Lynx got off to a red-hot start, scoring 31 points in the first quarter and taking an early 13-point lead.

Guard Kayla McBride led Minnesota with 10 points in the first quarter.

The Lynx continued to extend their lead in the second quarter, leading by as many as 21 points – the largest lead by either team in the series to that point.

At halftime the Lynx led 53-34 and guard Courtney Williams had taken over. Williams scored 15 points in the first half with a perfect shooting performance of 6-6 from the field and 1-1 on free throws.

The Suns gave Minnesota a scare with a 7-0 run early in the second half, but the Lynx quickly found their footing and extended their lead to 24 points.

It was academic from there as Minnesota cruised to a comfortable win.

Lynx forward Napheesa Collier finished the game as the game's leading scorer with 27 points. Collier also became the first player in WBNA history to record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in three straight playoff games.

Williams finished the game with 24 points and McBride scored 19 points for Minnesota. DiJonai Carrington led Connecticut with 17 points in the game.

“I've said from the beginning how special this group is and how we can do great things, and now we're in the finals,” Collier told ESPN after the game. “This is the best feeling ever!”

Minnesota's win sets up a WNBA Finals duel between the top two teams of the regular season. New York had the best record in the league, but the Lynx defeated the Liberty in three of four games that season, including one win, to capture the WNBA's first Commissioner's Cup.

Collier was quick to downplay Minnesota's dominance over the Liberty in the regular season.

“I think the regular season means nothing,” Collier said. “They're a great team, number one in the league, but there's two of us, you know, we're right behind them.

“I think it’s going to be a great series, great basketball. Two great teams, two teams full of great players competing against each other.”

The Lynx lead all WNBA teams with four championships in franchise history, the most recent being in 2017. The franchise's seven Finals appearances led all WNBA teams.

The Liberty are making their sixth appearance in the WNBA Finals but are still looking for their first championship.

The WNBA best-of-five finals are scheduled to begin Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.