Takeaways: Lynx lose Game 3 to Mercury; Cheryl Reeve ejected, Napheesa Collier injured

PHOENIX — Ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals, a rainstorm rolled through Arizona, cooling off Thursday’s 100-degree temperatures.

PHX Arena didn’t get the memo.

The Lynx lost a heated matchup 84-76 to Phoenix as the Mercury took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and put Minnesota a game away from elimination.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected with 21.8 seconds remaining after getting her second technical foul as she protested what she thought was a foul against star Napheesa Collier. After Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Collier, Thomas’ lower body collided with Collier’s left knee. The Lynx forward left the court grabbing her left ankle, which rolled badly as she went to the court.

“When you let the physicality happen, people get hurt. There’s fights, and this is the look our league wants, for some reason. We were trying to play through it,” Reeve said postgame as she made a statement, then left before answering questions.

“One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws, and she had five fouls, zero free throws. Had her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out and probably has a fracture.”

Reeve also called out the officiating at the league level, pointing to complaints from other WNBA coaches this season as well.

Reeve was ejected with the Lynx already down 82-76 after having picked up her first technical with 5 minutes, 27 seconds left to the play in the second quarter, also disputing officiating of Thomas defending Collier tightly.

“We haven’t talked about the officiating all playoffs,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts postgame. “We just play and worry about us.”

The Lynx had held a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, wrestling back the advantage after falling behind with the Mercury’s 15-2 run at the end of the first half putting them ahead 48-44.

But Phoenix’s defense managed to hold the Lynx’s leading scorers, Collier (17 points) and guard Natisha Hiedeman (a team-high 19 points) scoreless in the fourth as the Lynx watched a late lead slip away for the second consecutive playoff game.

Center Alanna Smith, the WNBA’s co-defensive player of the year, played only 12 minutes and scored no points.

The Lynx had retaken a 67-63 lead by the end of the third quarter thanks to some big minutes off the bench from Lynx center Masha Kliundikova, who helped the Lynx shore up its interior defense on Thomas and DeWanna Bonner.

But Collier picked up two personal fouls early in the fourth quarter, putting her total at four, and the Mercury managed to hold Minnesota scoreless for the first three minutes of the quarter before outscoring the Lynx 21-9 in the fourth to close the game.

“You look at the fourth,” guard Courtney Williams said postgame. “That’s not winning basketball, right? We’ve got to obviously do a better job executing down the stretch so, you know, we don’t put ourselves in that position.”

Phoenix forward Satou Sabally hit a three with three minutes remaining to give Phoenix a 78-76 lead that the Mercury never relented. Up 80-76, back-to-back offensive boards with a minute left allowed Phoenix to burn the clock and the Lynx’s chances at a late rally.

Sabally netted 15 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead three. She finished 5-for-11 from the field and made all 11 of her free throw attempts. Thomas and Kahleah Copper, who also picked up a tech in the third quarter for taunting Williams, both scored 19 for the Mercury.

After two games light on free throws, Phoenix shot 18-for-22 from the line, the Lynx 10-for-11. Minnesota finished 30-for-71 (42.3%) shooting from the field and 6-for-24 from three, while the Mercury shot 30-for-65 (46.2%) and six-for-18 from beyond the arc.

Hiedeman, who had been held to zero shot attempts in the Lynx’s loss in Game 2, was seven-for-12 on Sunday, scoring her 19 points in just under 23 minutes.

If Phoenix again defends home court in Game 4 on Sunday, it books its first trip to the WNBA Finals since 2021, when it lost to the Chicago Sky.

But Lynx stealing Sunday’s game on the road would tee up Game 5 back in Minneapolis on Tuesday.