Neal: Napheesa Collier’s phenomenal effort on both ends drives Lynx to Game 1 victory

Napheesa Collier played 39 minutes, 51 seconds of a possible 40 minutes on Sunday. She scored 38 points, second most in Lynx playoff history to Maya Moore’s 40 in the 2015 Western Conference finals.

She also made 10 consecutive free throws before missing her 11th attempt during the fourth quarter. She ended with 13 made free throws, tying Seimone Augustus for the most in a Lynx postseason game.

This was one way Collier showed why she’s the best player in the WNBA not named A’ja Wilson.

Collier filled up the nets at Target Center on Sunday as the Lynx began their drive for WNBA title No. 5 with a 102-95 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. But she is an omni, meaning that she does it all and means everything to the Lynx’s championship quest.

In addition to producing like two Lynx legends in Game 1, she tied for the team high with six rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked a shot. The Lynx announced following the game that Collier became the first player in WNBA playoff history to have 38 points, five rebounds, four assists and one block in a single game.

She announced her arrival to this year’s playoffs with an MVP-like performance on a day in which the league announced that she finished second in MVP voting to Wilson, who was the WNBA’s first player to score over 1,000 points in a regular season. That’s hard to ignore, especially when Wilson’s historic campaign helped the Aces rebound from a slow start to the regular season.

But Collier also was named AP Defensive Player of the Year on Sunday. She’s undisputedly the best two-way player in the league.

“Kudos to A’ja,” Collier said. “She deserves to be MVP.

“I’ll come for her next year.”

The Lynx took a 23-point lead in the second quarter, with Collier the driving force. She scored 13 points over the game’s first seven minutes. She sank a three-pointer to put the Lynx up 37-19, then got a hand on a pass during the Mercury’s next possession as she impacted on both ends of the floor.

When that lead was blown in the second half, Collier was part of the response, making a layup to put the Lynx ahead 91-88 with 3:31 to play then adding two free throws later.

“When Phee is playing like that,” coach Cheryl Reeve said, “when your best player is playing like the MVP that she is, that bodes well for the rest of the group.”

There are three rounds in the WNBA playoffs, a best-of-three series followed by a best-of-five series for the semifinals and finals. That means it takes eight victories to be named champion. Phenomenal Phee’s effort Sunday means there are seven more to go.

When the Lynx are at their best, there are five omnis on the court. Their spacing and movement make it tough to guard all of them. Their unselfishness means everyone has a chance to contribute. It also allows Collier space to operate, whether it’s by driving to the basket or thriving in post-up situations.

“I’m just taking open shots, and my teammates got me a lot of easy shots,” Collier said. “Playing with [guard] Courtney [Williams] in the pick and roll, finding situations where we can take advantage of their defense.”

Phoenix, however, surged during the second half when the Lynx broke down defensively and struggled with ball movement on the offensive end. The Lynx trailed 86-85 with 4:44 left before they rediscovered their game.

The Mercury felt they grew into the game, found ways to exploit the Lynx defense and now are ready to throw more punches in Game 2 on Wednesday. Phoenix players spoke about how their second-half rally gave them hope for Game 2.

But as they take away something positive into Wednesday’s game, there are two things they should consider:

One: How do they account for Phantastic Phee, either when she’s creating shots or when teammates provide prime scoring opportunities?

Two: If “we can’t” is the answer to that question, then how do they get back to Phoenix for a Game 3?