Napheesa Collier ties WNBA record for points in a playoff game as Lynx beat Mercury | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Napheesa Collier had a memorable night on Wednesday when she set a WNBA postseason record with 42 points in the Minnesota Lynx’s 101-88 victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 and took the team to the semifinals.

The four-time All-Star finished 14 of 20 field goals, setting the postseason points record previously held twice by Breanna Stewart (2022) and Angel McCoughtry (2010).

In addition to her point total, Collier added five rebounds and four assists. She joins Lynx legend Maya Moore as only the second player to record at least 40 points, four rebounds and four assists in a playoff game.

Last season, Collier scored at least 30 points in three consecutive playoff games, setting a WNBA record. Sentence by three-time MVP A’ja Wilson during the Las Vegas Aces’ run to the championship last year.

Collier scored 12 of Minnesota’s 28 points in the second quarter after the Mercury opened the game with a 25-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Wednesday’s performance was just another brilliant moment in what has been a fantastic 2024 season so far for Collier. She finished second to Wilson in MVP voting after leading the Lynx to a franchise-record 30 wins in the regular season.

The next step for Collier and the Lynx is a showdown with the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals. Minnesota hosts the first game of the series on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Collier will look to continue her winning streak against a Sun team that led the league in points allowed and defensive rating during the regular season. In three games against Connecticut during the regular season, she hit 58.3 percent of her shots and averaged 21.7 points per game.