The Lynx and head coach Cheryl Reeve choked in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals.
There’s no sugarcoating the process of losing a 20-point second-half lead and falling to Phoenix in overtime, a defeat that changed the complexion of the best-of-five series.
Players committed unforced turnovers and displayed a general lack of execution in key moments. Reeve was partially responsible for not calling a critical timeout that would have prevented a killer five-second violation in the final minute, and her decision not to have players foul while up three in the waning seconds led to a game-tying trey.
To Reeve’s credit, she second-guessed herself after the game.
“In hindsight, I do like a foul there, but I didn’t direct them to,” Reeve said.
To players’ credit, they didn’t seem to be hanging their heads after the defeat.
“Definitely, it’s frustrating, but it’s a series, it’s a long series, tied now,” star Napheesa Collier said. “So we need to go to Phoenix and take care of business.”
But words alone will not bring redemption. We will know by how the Lynx play Friday whether the Game 2 loss was a small blip or an ominous sign, as I talked about on the Daily Delivery podcast.
