Minnesota Lynx defeat Connecticut Sun, even series 1-1

MINNEAPOLIS – After two games in the WNBA semifinals, one thing seems clear about the relationship between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx, who won Game 2 77-70 on Tuesday.

They are not on friendly terms – at least in this series.

What began as a playoff game Tuesday night almost turned into a 1980s Bulls-Pistons affair, as the incumbent team in Minneapolis seemed to blow the whistle far less than it could have. There were hard fouls, cheap shots and endless trash talk. There were even a few moments where it looked like a fight was going to break out.

“Guys don’t fight,” said Lynx guard Courtney Williams, who scored a team-high 17 points in the win. “It’s just playoff basketball.”

But Williams also admitted her team knew they had to match their opponent’s intensity after a loss in Game 1.

“In the first game they were chirping and chatting, so we had to give it back to them,” Williams said. “Playoff basketball, man.”

After both teams missed their first 14 shots, the unrest that characterized the first game of the series on Sunday returned.

Suns star Marina Mabrey fought against WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier for a loose ball in the first half before referees stepped between both players and their teammates who had come to support them.

At various points in the game, both Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton fell to the ground and checked their mouths for blood after clashes with Sun players. Alyssa Thomas, who had stuck her tongue out after an earlier layup, grabbed her right ankle after a bloody tackle in the paint. And McBride picked up a technical foul when she hip-checked Mabrey — both of whom played for Muffett McGraw at Notre Dame — in the second quarter.

However, the most explosive moment between the two teams came in the fourth quarter when McBride threw Dijonai off Carrington as she drove to the rim for a late layup. Carrington sat on the floor for a moment. She then jumped up and charged toward McBride before her teammates held her back.

“We all have to kind of stay calm and focus on the goal in front of us,” said Carrington, who had 14 points. “We know whoever we play against, they will try to test us, be it with hard fouls, be it with tweets. We just have to stick together and make sure we continue to focus on scoring.” That’s really what you saw there.

DeWanna Bonner said she expects that aggressiveness from both teams.

“There will be delicate moments,” said Bonner. “It’s kind of a win-or-go-home kind of deal, you know? So everyone wants it and emotions are running high. We’re just two competitive teams going to battle. That’s about it.”

For the Lynx, Game 2 had a different vibe than Game 1. Although Napheesa Collier (3 of 14) struggled in her second straight game after a record-setting first-round performance against the Phoenix Mercury, that wasn’t the case for the Lynx lose their composure.

It helped that Myisha Hines-Allen (seven points) gave the team crucial shots and energy off the bench. Hines-Allen, the sister of Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, showed off her game in the second half after her layup helped the team extend its lead.

Since the Lynx acquired Hines-Allen from the Washington Mystics in August, she has given them a new toughness that has helped them compete against tough teams like the Sun.

“She brings that physical presence, and when someone like that comes off the bench, that’s someone you don’t want to play against,” said Alanna Smith, who finished with 15 points (3 of 4 from the 3-point line). . “You see them come on the court and you think ‘S—.’ When someone like her comes off the bench, who is physically strong but is also a great player – she’s a great passer, she rebounds so well, she sets great screens, she does the little things really, really well – we relying on her to come off the bench and bring that fear because you can’t sleep when our bench comes into play. And I think she’s a big reason why.”

The Suns still have the edge this season with three wins over the Lynx in five games as the series now goes back to Connecticut. But the Lynx, Sun head coach Stephanie White said, were the tougher team on Tuesday, which may not be the case in the future if her team aims to advance to the Finals and win the WNBA title for the first time in franchise history win.

“It’s an emotional game,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “That’s one of the reasons we love it. We are competitors, they are competitors. We have great players, they have great players. I think we just need to make sure we channel it properly. Everyone wants to win. Everyone is fighting for a championship.

In the third quarter of the game, Williams and Mabrey continued to talk to each other, even when an official tried to get them to stop. That was the tone of the entire game on Tuesday, as the WNBA’s best defensive teams refused to back down in a critical matchup.

Despite the animosity in Game 2, however, Williams said everyone would move on eventually, but not until after the playoffs.

“Oh, we chatted,” Williams said of the exchange with Mabrey. “I told her she couldn’t protect me. She told me that I don’t have that many good games. I said, ‘So you think you’re under pressure? Because I’m really under pressure.’ A little back and forth, man. We’ll talk a bit when we’re done playing.