Lynx survive WNBA playoff opener with 102-95 victory over Phoenix

With 126 seconds left Sunday at Target Center, Phoenix guard Natasha Cloud blasted down the lane and scored. What happened next defines why this Lynx season has been so special.

A problem? They solve it. Pressure? They deal with it. An impending collapse?

Avert it.

The second-seeded Lynx opened the first-round of their best-of-three WNBA playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury with a 102-95 victory. In a game with a dizzying shift in momentum, the Lynx kept their heads. With a 23-point first-half lead gone, they figured it out. Down a point with just over two minutes left after Cloud had scored, they responded.

“It’s just staying calm in those moments,” said Napheesa Collier, whose 38 points were the second-most in Lynx playoff history; whose 13 made free throws tied Seimone Augustus for a playoff record; whose 38-point, six-rebound, four-assist, one-block effort was singular in league playoff history. “We talked a lot about it’s not going to be easy. So, when you get in that situation, it’s staying calm, executing what we need to do, then getting stops back on defense.”

That pretty much explains how the Lynx collected a victory — in a game that looked like it was slipping away — with a collective 11-3 finishing run.

This despite the Mercury shooting an even 50% overall, 14-for-27 on threes. Cloud went off for 33 points and 10 assists while making 14 of 23 shots. Diana Taurasi, her career perhaps winding down, scored 21 points and made five of 10 threes.

Here’s how:

With 1: left, Courtney Williams hit Myisha Hines-Allen for a layup for two of her six fourth-quarter points. That put the Lynx up three.

Then, the killer sequence: Cloud came driving in for another layup, but Lynx center Alanna Smith blocked her from behind.

“It was one of those things where I just had to take a risk,” Smith said. “And, well, thank goodness.”

BOXSCORE: Lynx 102, Phoenix 95

Moments later, with a play called for Phee fouled up, with the shot clock about to expire — she said she heard the crowd counting it down — Bridget Carleton found herself in the corner with the ball.

“I was like, ‘Shoot it,’ " Carleton said.

The three hit with 39 seconds left. The Lynx led by six. A few days earlier, Carleton helped the Lynx clinch the No. 2 seed with a late three at Connecticut. Sunday she iced another one.

Before the game, the Associated Press announced Cheryl Reeve as its Coach of the Year. Collier was Defensive Player of the Year and the runner-up to A’ja Wilson for MVP. Then she went out and showed why.

But for all those points, she was one of four Lynx players who scored during that 11-3 finish. Hines-Allen had two points. Smith had two blocks, Kayla McBride hit four free throws. McBride scored 20 points, Carleton 12, Hines-Allen 10.

The Lynx combined to hold the Mercury to 1-for-6 shooting.

“There is a lot of trust there,” McBride said. “I think Alanna’s block was the epitome of the last couple minutes.”

Said Collier of Carleton’s three: “Huge. That side of the court she’s just absolutely insane. So fun to watch.”

There will be adjustments Wednesday. Upset over Minnesota’s 24-7 edge on free throws made, Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts questioned the officiating. Cloud pointed to teammate Celeste Taylor, who left with what Cloud called a broken nose — an injury that did not result in a Lynx foul.

This series is just getting started. But to a person, the Lynx said the team can and will play better defense.

“But I’m sure the other team feels the same way,” Reeve said. “That’s what makes for a great series.”

Collier was asked about speculation that Taurasi may retire after this season. Collier praised Taurasi: A UConn great and a league GOAT.

“I feel lucky to have been able to play with her on Team USA and against her,” Collier said. “And hopefully we can end her career on Wednesday.”