Top-seeded Minnesota Lynx see dream season end early after frustrating 3-game tailspin

PHOENIX (AP) — The Minnesota Lynx looked like a team of destiny all summer, steamrolling through the WNBA schedule with the best record as they worked to avenge their loss in the Finals last season.

The dream fell apart in less than a week.

The top-seeded Lynx saw their season come to an end Sunday when they lost 86-81 to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 4 of the playoff semifinal. Minnesota lost its third straight game, blowing a 13-point lead to start the fourth quarter to end the best-of-five series.

All-Star Kayla McBride poured in 31 points — hitting six 3-pointers in the second half — but it wasn’t quite enough to force a winner-take-all Game 5 in Minneapolis. The short-handed Lynx played Sunday without suspended coach Cheryl Reeve and All-Star guard Napheesa Collier, who suffered an ankle injury near the end of Game 3.

The 33-year-old McBride fought back tears in the postgame press conference.

“I’ve been here five years and to be so close — you just want it for the people around you. The ones with you every single day,” McBride said. “Good days, bad days, bus rides, locker rooms. In pro sports, it doesn’t get any better than what we have. That’s why I’m emotional.”

Minnesota was among the favorites to get back to the Finals this season after falling in five games to the New York Liberty in 2024. Reeve said the title had been “stolen” from them thanks to poor officiating in Game 5.

One year later, officiating was another big factor in the Lynx’s playoff exit.

Reeve was suspended for Game 4 because of her behavior and comments toward officials in Game 3, leaving associate coach Eric Thibault in charge. The suspension — on top of Collier’s injury — proved too much to overcome.

Minnesota looked well on its way to the Finals less than a week ago after winning Game 1 over the Mercury on Sept. 21. But the Lynx coughed up a 20-point lead in Game 2, falling 89-83 in overtime, starting a tailspin.

Without their coach and star guard, the Lynx fought valiantly on Sunday, leading 68-55 after three quarters.

But they couldn’t stop the Mercury down the stretch. Minnesota has won four WNBA titles in franchise history — in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

It’ll be at least one more year before it can add a fifth.

“It’s hard — especially when we left everything out there,” McBride said. “As a vet, somebody who is older, I feel everything, because I just care about the people around me.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball