Neal: Courtney Williams comes up big as Lynx even series with Sun

Lynx players took turns taking half-court shots toward the end of their Tuesday morning shootaround. Rookie Alissa Pili was mobbed by teammates when she made her long-range bomb.

Courtney Williams, however, was the first one lining up the shot when reporters were allowed in. She stepped to midcourt, released the ball and calmly said, “Bang, bang,” as the ball banked in.

Ready to respond after losing Game 1 of the WNBA semifinal playoff series to the Connecticut Sun?

“Obviously [not the] ideal situation,” the Lynx point guard said. “But nothing that is valuable comes easy, right? So, you know, we got punched in the mouth, so now we’ve got to come back out and punch back.”

The Game 1 loss wasn’t easy on Williams, who missed some crucial shots in a three-point defeat Sunday night, but she embraced it. She reviewed film Monday and began plotting adjustments. In the postseason, adjustments must come quickly or it’s time to schedule offseason vacations.

“She started ‘ideating’ about some things that she could do,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We asked her to get a little more assertive, a little more aggressive. And whatever that looks like is up to Courtney.”

It took a while for Connecticut to be on the receiving end of Williams’ payback plan Tuesday night. She shot 1-for-6 in the first half, committed three turnovers and was benched for a spell. At that point, she was 8-for-29 from the field over her last 2½ playoff games.

But she found her game during a pivotal third quarter and finished with a team-high 17 points as the Lynx won 77-70 in Game 2 at Target Center.

Bang, bang. Now we have a series, tied at a game apiece as it shifts to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday night. And it’s now a best-of-three.

There were collisions, fights for loose balls, stifling defense and a focus on taking each team’s star — Alyssa Thomas for the Sun and Napheesa Collier for the Lynx — out of the game. Thomas had six points at halftime. Collier had five. Moreover, Collier didn’t attempt a field goal in the second quarter and went from three seconds left in the first quarter to 4:29 left in the third without a made field goal.

But the Lynx led 47-38.

Williams exploded for 11 points in the third, including consecutive possessions in which she pulled up from 17 feed for a basket, then buried a three-pointer — followed by a rebel yell in front of the Sun bench. Moments later, an official had to step in between Williams and Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey — teammates with Chicago last season — as they jawed at each other.

“Oh, we was chatting,” Williams said. “I told her she couldn’t guard me. She told me I ain’t had that many good games. I said, ‘So you think you pressure, because I’m really pressure.’ A little back-and-forth action. It’s playoffs, man. We are gonna talk a little bit.

“We’ll be cool again after we done playing.”

Bang, bang. It was that kind of game Tuesday. Collier and Mabrey had words after scrapping for a rebound in the second quarter. Kayla McBride of the Lynx was served a technical foul later in the quarter after she put a shoulder into Mabrey following a bucket.

Tempers were flaring, which is almost expected when two defensive-minded teams are matched up. Both teams are fine with playing that way. So more is coming.

The Lynx are not backing down in the postseason. It was Williams who received a technical in Game 2 in the first-round win over Phoenix when she got in Sophie Cunningham’s face after the Mercury guard sent Bridget Carleton to the floor with a flagrant foul.

Williams is seeking her third trip to the WNBA Finals. She was on the Connecticut teams that lost to Washington in five games in 2019 and Las Vegas in four games in 2022.

This version of Williams has blossomed into a heady and steady point guard, leading the team in assists while picking the right times to get buckets. And the Lynx are two wins away from the Finals because she punched back Tuesday.