Scoggins: ‘Uncharacteristic’ Lynx lose composure when it mattered most

The 20-point lead had all but vanished, but even as frazzled as they looked, the Lynx still had a winning outcome within their grasp. They just needed to display a morsel of composure and execution.

They didn’t.

In fact, they did the opposite.

They crumbled in a very un-Lynx-like way.

A series of bad plays and bad decisions punctuated a collapse that suddenly and dramatically changed the tenor of a best-of-five playoff series after the Phoenix Mercury stunned the Lynx in an 89-83 overtime victory Tuesday night at Target Center.

“Phoenix did a good job of coming out aggressive [after halftime],” Lynx star Napheesa Collier said, “but I think we beat ourselves.”

That’s the headline in big, bold letters: They beat themselves.

The final minute was a case study in how not to close out a game.

The Lynx led 77-72 with a minute remaining. The Lynx called a timeout after the Mercury scored with 46 seconds left, allowing them to inbound the ball in the frontcourt.

Leading 77-74, the Lynx failed to get the ball inbounds. Turnover.

Coach Cheryl Reeve tried to call a timeout to avoid a five-second violation but was too late, as Bridget Carleton couldn’t find an open teammate.

“Huge,” Reeve said of the impact. “My timeout was too late. B.C. knows she can always take a timeout. We didn’t get it done.”

Courtney Williams made two free throws to give the Lynx a 79-76 lead with 20 seconds left. Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts called a timeout and drew up two plays in the huddle, expecting the Lynx to foul. The Lynx had a foul to give.

That should have been how it played out — foul to prevent a three-pointer from tying the game.

Reeve chose not to.

It backfired.

The Lynx squandered two chances to foul.

They didn’t, and Copper was able to pass the ball out to Satou Sabally, who quickly swung a pass to Whitcomb on the other side of the court. Alanna Smith closed out but jumped on a pump fake, allowing Whitcomb to dribble for an open three-pointer.

Tie game.

“We didn’t instruct them to take a foul, so they were playing it out,” Reeve said. “Hindsight, I do like a foul there. But I didn’t direct them to.”

The whole sequence was regrettable. Not fouling, especially after the first miss. The offensive rebound. The fly-by on the pump fake.

The Mercury pounced on those mistakes, just as they had the entire second half.

The Mercury brought a different level of fight and physical presence in the second half, and the Lynx crumbled.

They made careless turnovers. The offense got out of sync. They gave up offensive rebounds. The tide turned, and the Lynx never found a way to stop it.

“We lost our way,” Reeve said. “We didn’t respond. We certainly talked about it ahead of time, what this team was feeling and what would be next. Our response to it was very uncharacteristic. Some of the body language in terms of players that I’m not used to seeing certain looks from. Then we needed to go get buckets. We had good opportunities, and we weren’t strong enough, we weren’t tough enough. They ripped the game from us.”

That was the most disappointing part.

They didn’t respond with force once the Mercury made their push. They didn’t handle it like a veteran team, one that posted the WNBA’s best record by showing, among other things, resilience when adversity hits.