Lynx beat Liberty, send WNBA Finals to decider in NY
Bridget Carleton has made two free throws with two seconds left, and the Minnesota Lynx forced a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals by beating the New York Liberty 82-80.
The teams will meet again in New York in the first Game 5 of the Finals since 2019, when Washington topped Connecticut.
"I was pretty confident. I'm a confident free-throw shooter," Carleton said.
Kayla McBride led the Lynx with 19 points and Courtney Williams added 15 for Minnesota, who forced Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu into poor shooting nights. Ionescu's heave at the buzzer on Friday night didn't hit the rim.
"Last 40 minutes of the season could be anywhere, we're going to be out there going to war and I'm pumped," said McBride.
One Australian will be celebrating as champion on Sunday night: either New York's Opals coach Sandy Brondello or her international forward and Lynx star Alanna Smith.
Smith had 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in her 30 minutes of court time.
Unlike the first three games of the series, when one of the teams built a double-digit lead, this one was tight throughout. There were 14 lead changes and 13 ties, and neither team led by more than six.
Jonquel Jones had 21 points and Leonie Fiebich scored 19 for the Liberty. Stewart, who scored 30 points in Game 3, had 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting, and Ionescu scored 10 but was 5 of 16 from the floor, which included the last-shot miss.
"It was a little screen to get (Jonquel Jones) to the block, but Sabrina had to come out," Brondello said of the final possession.
"Two seconds, try to establish the big girl down low. They defended it well."
Minnesota stand one victory away from a record fifth WNBA title, which would break a tie with the Houston Comets and Seattle Storm. The Liberty are looking for their first title and have lost in the Finals five times. The team was one of the original eight franchises when the league began in 1997 and is the only one left of that group not to have won it all.
New York lost to Las Vegas in last season's Finals.
The Lynx reached the Finals for the first time since 2017, when they won the last of four championships in seven years.
Both teams had chances before Carleton's free throws. McBride missed a layup with 56 seconds left, but Minnesota forced a shot-clock violation on the other end when Stewart's shot in the lane missed with 18 seconds left.
"We wanted to get it done tonight, but like Sandy said, our fans are like no other," Stewart said.
"Can't wait for Sunday."
With AAP.
