Lindsay Whalen's double-clutch, turnaround jumper that decided the Lynx's 76-75 victory Tuesday night was impressive. But it was not the intended play.
With the score tied 74-74 in the final minute at Xcel Energy Center, coach Cheryl Reeve wanted Whalen to drive baseline. But the New York Liberty defense cut the veteran guard off. So Whalen picked up her dribble, pivoted one way, then another. And, off-balance, she threw up a shot far different from the one Reeve envisioned.
"She made lemonade," Reeve said.
New York (10-10) cut the deficit to one with a free throw, then had a chance to win, but Sugar Rodgers missed an open shot near the top of the key and a desperation shot in the corner after getting the rebound in a mad scramble in the game's final seconds.
"We were fortunate to win the game," said Reeve, whose team is off to the best start in franchise history (17-2).
Reeve opened her postgame news conference by saying the game included "two very different halves," the first of which, she determined, must have been "too much fun" for both teams.
Tina Charles came into the game averaging nearly 18 shot attempts per game, most in the league. And the center almost single-handedly kept the Liberty in the game in the first half, when she scored 20 points on 15 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds, including three offensive.