It’s only fitting that a banner year for the WNBA featured an instant classic to kick off the WNBA Finals.
The Minnesota Lynx trailed by 18 points in the first half and faced a 15-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter before authoring a historic rally. They went on an 18-2 run to close out regulation before winning it a thrilling overtime session to upset New York, 95-93.
New York was a six-point favorite heading into the game and -330 to win their first title in franchise history. Instead, Minnesota’s 18-point comeback matched the biggest in WNBA Finals history. Ironically, it ties the Liberty who did it against the now-defunct Houston Comets in 1999. The Lynx were a consensus +210 on the moneyline, and their victory made it the biggest upset of the postseason.
Additionally, according to ESPN, Minnesota became the first team in WNBA postseason history to win when trailing by at least 15 points in the final five minutes of regulation. Teams had previously been 0-183.
Minnesota is now favored to win the series, according to FanDuel. The Lynx are -126 while New York is +108.
The Liberty looked well on their way to covering and taking the 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series before the Lynx mounted their furious comeback. It was highlighted by a Courtney Williams four-point play with 5.5 seconds left that gave the Lynx an 84-83 lead.
It appeared Minnesota would win in regulation when Napheesa Collier blocked a Breanna Stewart layup attempt with two ticks left. Stewart grabbed the ball and attempted a last-second shot to tie it at the buzzer with Collier draped over her. However, it was initially ruled that time expired before the foul. Video review proved that wasn’t the case, sending Stewart to the line with the chance to win it. Stewart drained the first but missed the second, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams understandably looked sluggish in the extra session. The Lynx scored all four points with only two minutes remaining before the Liberty finally got on the board. Jones made a three-pointer to trim the lead to one, but Williams answered with a three of her own on the next possession.
The teams traded buckets on a pair of possessions before a wild 30 seconds closed things out. Sabrina Ionescu cut the lead in half before Jonquel Jones stole the ball and hit a layup just four seconds later to tie the score.
Minnesota wouldn’t be denied, though, as Collier hit a sweet turnaround jumper from the top of the key for a two-point lead with eight seconds left. Stewart wasn’t able to finish a layup at the buzzer, sending Liberty fans home in shock while the Lynx took the 1-0 series lead. The loss is yet another dagger in New York's frustrating WNBA Finals history, as they're now 2-11 all-time.
