Lynx have no margin for error in WNBA Finals: ‘We are going to answer the call’

Because as a player she’s been in this situation before, Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson talked to the team in the Target Center locker room after Wednesday’s difficult 80-77 loss to New York in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.

The Lynx are down 2-1 in the best-of-five series, after losing consecutive games since opening the series with a victory. They are facing elimination in Friday’s Game 4 at Target Center.

Brunson? She knows the feeling.

“She was able to share some things [after the game],” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said Thursday. “Rebekkah Brunson has gone through this.”

It was 2017, the year the Lynx won their fourth WNBA title and Brunson won her fifth. Minnesota lost Game 1 on a last-second shot but won Game 2. The Lynx went to Los Angeles and lost Game 3. Down early in Game 4, the Lynx rallied to win and never trailed in Game 5.

“There are still games to play,” Brunson said. “That’s what I told them. That was the mindset back then, and what it should be now. The series isn’t over until one team gets three. As long as nobody has that, you still have to play.”

Wednesday’s loss was difficult. Up 15 in the first quarter, the Lynx struggled offensively over the final 30 minutes and ended up shooting 38.7%. The Lynx missed open shots while the Liberty — particularly Breanna Stewart — started making theirs. Sabrina Ionescu’s step-back, 28-foot three-pointer at the end of regulation was the final blow.

But there were others. Lynx center Alanna Smith battled early foul trouble, then was hobbled by back pain after committing a foul on Jonquel Jones in the second quarter. She tried to return but was limited to less than 20 minutes.

Smith said she will try to power through the pain to play Friday.

But whether or not Smith plays, the Lynx have to do what they’ve done all season: Problem-solve.

“We didn’t expect to sweep New York, obviously,” all-league forward Napheesa Collier said. “It was never going to happen. We’re the two best teams in the W this year. What Coach [Brunson] was saying was how hard it’s going to be again. They were down early in the series and responded. Now we are. We have to come out with the mindset that we’re going to be super-aggressive. We have to win this game.”

But to do that means shaking off a difficult end to the game. Nobody knows that better than Kayla McBride, who was guarding Ionescu on that final shot.

“A great player made a great play,” McBride said. “Give her credit.

“There has been amazing shot-making throughout the series. But I’m sure this is how they felt after Game 1. So it’s, how do we respond? How do we come out and make it as hard as possible? That’s the only thing I can do and the only thing I want to do.”

The team has solved problems on its own much of the season. Reeve reminded the players of that.

“I did remind them how special they are,” Reeve said. “And that we’ve answered every challenging situation, whether it’s a run in a game or a part of the season. Friday’s not going to be any different. We’re going to answer the call for sure.”

Said McBride: “It’s just staying together. Staying connected. We can’t let what happened in Game 3 trickle into Game 4.”

Having already done it, Brunson knows it’s possible, that the Lynx can send the series back to New York for a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night.

“This one is going to end up being of the best Finals series ever,” Brunson said. “I have no doubt in this team, and they don’t have any doubt in themselves.”