Liberty, Lynx set to meet in WNBA Finals

By Sports Desk October 09, 2024

When the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty played for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship in June, it seemed a foregone conclusion the teams would meet further down the road with much more at stake.

That time has come, as the Liberty will host the Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday in a matchup of teams that posted the top two records during the regular season.

New York went 5-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play while Minnesota posted a 4-1 record en route to a meeting on June 25 in the championship game of the in-season competition that started in 2021.

The Liberty entered as the defending champions of the Commissioner's Cup and with a 15-3 overall record, while the Lynx came in with a 13-3 mark.

Minnesota went on to win its first Commissioner's Cup championship with a 94-89 victory at New York.

The Lynx also took two of three meetings in the regular season, but the Liberty (32-8) managed to finish two games ahead of Minnesota (30-10) in the final standings.

“I think the regular season doesn’t mean anything, they are an amazing team,” Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier said.

“It’s going to be a great series, great basketball. Two teams with great players competing.”

Collier was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and was runner-up to Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson for the WNBA MVP award.

Collier finished in the top five in the league in scoring (20.4 points per game), rebounds (9.7), steals (1.9), double-doubles (18) and player efficiency (25.7), but she’s been even more dominant in the play-offs.

The sixth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft is averaging a league-high 27.1 points and tops all post-season players with a 32.9 efficiency rating to go along with 9.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.

“She’s improved every season. She’s just been incredible,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said.

“Every game, it’s more than scoring how she helps our team. When she plays like the MVP, we're tough to beat.”

The Lynx booked their ticket to the WNBA Finals with an 88-77 win over the Connecticut Sun in the decisive Game 5 of the semifinals on Tuesday.

New York has been idle since eliminating the two-time defending champion Aces in Game 4 of the semis on Sunday.

“Talk about the schedule, who cares. Nobody’s going to feel bad for us,” Reeve said.

“Got to go hooping right away and we’ll do that.”

The Liberty exacted a measure of revenge on Las Vegas after losing to the Aces in four games in last season’s WNBA Finals, but star point guard Sabrina Ionescu said New York needs to remain focused.

“We haven’t done anything yet, I think we all understand that,” Ionescu said. “We want to come out and continue to be the best team like we have been all year.

“We’re three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to punch because nothing has been given to us yet.”

Ionescu and forward Breanna Stewart form an imposing 1-2 punch for the Liberty.

Stewart averaged 20.4 points (fourth in the league) during the regular season and Ionescu added 18.2 per game. Ionescu ranked fifth in the WNBA in both assists per game (6.2) and 3-pointers made (107).

In the play-offs, Ionescu is averaging 20.7 points and Stewart is pouring in 20.0 per game.

Minnesota is playing in its record seventh WNBA Finals and looking to break a tie with the Houston Comets and Seattle Storm for the most titles in WNBA history with its fifth championship.

New York, meanwhile, has lost in each of its previous five WNBA Finals appearances.

“We're going to the Finals and we're hosting Game 1 and Game 2,” Stewart said.

“We're ready to go. Just the feeling of not (being) satisfied."

Game 2 is Sunday before the series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3, and if necessary, Game 4. A winner-take-all Game 5 would be in New York on October 20.

Related items

  • 'This defeat is on me', says Jokic after Nuggets collapse 'This defeat is on me', says Jokic after Nuggets collapse

    Nikola Jokic accepted blame for the Denver Nuggets' dramatic collapse to the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose late surge saw them win 119-116.

    Jokic's contribution of 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds put Denver up 116-109, after he had scored two free throws with two minutes and 30 seconds left.

    But the visitors surmounted a comeback, and the Serbian missed the chance to bring the scores level at 119-119 with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.

    The result leaves the Nuggets languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference with just two wins from their opening five matches, and Jokic took responsibility for his poor showing.

    "We had 10 or eight points in the last, I don't know how many minutes. We didn't execute, I missed basically all of my shots in the last two or three minutes," he reflected.

    "They scored easily, they had open looks. This defeat is on me. I need to do a better job of getting guys involved.

    "Today, I didn't do a good job. I had a turnover, I missed two turnaround jumpers, so it was a bad sequence for me."

    The Nuggets had started to put a run of form together with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors in their previous two matches, but will now face Utah Jazz feeling they need a win now more than ever.

    The Timberwolves will be leaving far happier, with Anthony Edwards scoring 29 points during the victory. The guard credited the rivalry between the two teams for the grandstand finish.

    "They know when they see us, they don't like us, and I'm pretty sure they know we don't like them,” Edwards said. "It's always a great game. I love going against those guys. Plus, they have got the best player in the league, so I look forward to it."

  • NBA: Cavaliers, Thunder remain NBA's lone unbeaten teams NBA: Cavaliers, Thunder remain NBA's lone unbeaten teams

    Darius Garland scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 6-0 with a 120-109 victory Friday night over the Orlando Magic, who played their first game without injured All-Star Paolo Banchero.

    The Cavs are the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The last time Cleveland started 6-0 was in 2016 with LeBron James when it lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals. The club's best start was 8-0 in 1976.

    The early meeting between Orlando and Cleveland was a rematch of last season's tense opening-round playoff series won by the Cavs in seven games.

    Banchero is expected to miss at least a month - and maybe longer - with a torn right oblique. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft was on an early tear, averaging 29 points with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists before getting hurt Wednesday.

    Orlando's Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 28 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner had 17 points.

    The Magic hung around and were still within 10 late in the third quarter, when Cavs reserves Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill and Georges Niang all made 3-pointers in the final 2:17 to give Cleveland a 17-point lead going to the fourth.

    Cleveland improved to 30-7 in Mitchell's last 37 regular-season games since January.

    Thunder roll past Blazers to stay unbeaten

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in 28 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained perfect with a 137-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

    Jalen Williams added 22 points for the Thunder and Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had 13 off the bench as Oklahoma City improved to 5-0.

    Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points and Deandre Ayton added 14.

    After the Blazers came back from down 17 to tie the game at 68 at the half, Oklahoma City outscored the Blazers 38-17 in the third quarter and Portland was never able to get back in it.

    Wolves edge Nuggets in thriller

    Anthony Edwards hit a go-ahead 7-foot floater with 25.7 seconds left, and Rudy Gobert iced the game with two free throws to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Denver Nuggets 119-116.

    Edwards scored 29 points, Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Julius Randle added 23 points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who recovered from a 25-3 fourth-quarter run by the Nuggets.

    Nikola Jokić had 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds and hit two free throws with 2:30 left to put Denver up 116-109, before Minnesota roared back. Jokic had a chance to tie the game at 119, but Gobert forced an errant corner 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds to go.

    Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 31 points and 11 rebounds in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinal.

    Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points for the Nuggets, who lost point guard Jamal Murray to the concussion protocol in the third quarter after colliding with Randle.

    Christian Braun dunked over the 7-foot-1 Gobert with 5:14 left and got even closer to his face with a taunting scream that egged Gobert into grabbing Braun by the neck. The benches cleared, shouts were exchanged, and both players got a technical.

     

  • Morant playing free as Grizzlies down Bucks Morant playing free as Grizzlies down Bucks

    Ja Morant said he is playing with freedom after his superb performance against the Milwaukee Bucks.

    Morant recorded his 12th career triple-double as he finished with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in the Memphis Grizzlies' 122-99 victory over the Bucks.

    The point guard even threw an alley-oop while he was sat on the court at one point in Thursday's game.

    The Grizzlies moved to 3-3 for the season, while Morant is averaging 20.4 points per game.

    "I play free," said Morant. "With me, you are going to deal with turnovers. I'm always trying to make the right play.

    "I'm planning on taking control of the game every time. If the opposing team's point guard does, my teammates will tell you that I'll be frustrated.

    "It's another game for me, the win was most important.

    "That was my goal, talking with some of the teammates, and I said the goal was to get a win, and I'm going to get us one."

    Speaking about Morant's ludicrous alley-oop pass, teammate Scotty Pippen Jr. said: "I thought that was crazy. I don't even know why he tried that."

    Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins added: "He's been building up for this, and this has been kind of part of our plan that's been rolling out."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.