Game 5 between the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun was highly anticipated, but the actual game was anticlimactic.

The Lynx left no doubt they were the better team on Tuesday, beating the Sun 88-77. The scoreboard doesn’t reflect just how dominant Minnesota was; they led by as many as 24 points and were up double digits for the majority of the contest.

Napheesa Collier rose to the challenge of a winner-take-all game and made it clear that the gap between her and the second-best player on the floor was huge. She ended the night with 27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Courtney Williams also came up big for the Lynx, scoring 24 points. Her ability to outplay the Sun guards was a huge factor in the win.

On the Sun side, the starters were good, but not great. DiJonai Carrington was a bright spot and scored 17 points, while Marina Mabrey scored eight off the bench. It just wasn’t enough in a must-win game on the road.

Minnesota’s hot-shooting first half

The opening minutes of Game 5 went in Connecticut’s favor, starting out on a 9-2 run. After that, though, it was all Minnesota. The Lynx scored 10 unanswered points until Mabrey ended the drought for the Sun.

For every action, however, there is an equal or opposite reaction, and the Lynx got hot from deep, with Kayla McBride hitting back-to-back triples. Following a few more Williams baskets (as part of a perfect 4-for-4 start from the Lynx guard) and Collier finishes near the rim, the Lynx ended the opening frame on top 31-18.

After the game, Sun head coach Stephanie White talked about how tough that start was for her team, noting:

They came out and knocked us in the mouth today. And I’m proud of our team for continuing to fight, continuing to battle, to try to position ourselves to come back in this bal game, but it’s a lot to overcome, a deficit like that in the first quarter.

The Lynx piled on the rest of the half. This series was tight throughout all four games, but when Minnesota extended the lead to 17 points after a Natisha Hiedeman 3-pointer, it was the biggest advantage either team had for the series. The lead grew as high as 21 points, and we entered the halftime break with Minnesota up 53-34.

The Lynx didn’t let up

In a huge hole, the Sun needed a fast start in the third quarter to make it a game again. Carrington did her part, scoring five-consecutive points, part of a Sun 7-0 run to start the second half. Alanna Smith then ended the scoring drought for the Lynx with a 3-pointer, and Minnesota was back in business.

The Lynx scored 12-straight points, extending their lead to 24, the largest advantage of the game. This essentially ended all hope the Sun had of getting back into this game. In the fourth, there were more Williams buckets and Collier finishes near the rim, and soon, it was just a matter of looking at the clock to see how much time was left on the Sun’s season.

It was a complete game from the Lynx, and they celebrated on their home floor as they returned to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017.

In her post-game availability, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve beamed with pride when discussing her team’s performance on Tuesday, saying:

I just overwhelmingly felt proud, proud for how we played. We played Lynx basketball tonight, and it was nice to get back to that. I d–n near guaranteed you that we would play the defense that we played. We’re now 180-6 since 2011 when we hold our opponents below 40 percent. To do that to this team was special, and it was necessary for us to close them out.

The Minnesota Lynx will now strive for five against the New York Liberty, who are vying for their first WNBA title. The WNBA Finals will begin on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This season was all things unexpected for the Las Vegas Aces.

A team that has established a culture of consistent winning and excellence didn’t seem like themselves from the season’s start. Early season injuries, off-court controversies and a magnified lens on the backs of the back-to-back champs created a season of dodging curves and walking across eggshells, and as a result, the tank didn’t have enough gas to go for three-straight rings.

Rough start, tough finish

The Aces came into this season with two-straight WNBA championships, momentum to make history and a chip on their shoulder. What they didn’t have in their arsenal was their emotional leader: Chelsea Gray.

Gray missed the first 12 games of the season, which not only left the Aces without their compass but also without a huge bolt of leadership and energy. Her absence proved how invaluable she is as the team started off with a 6-6 record, looking like a shell of themselves only a few months after they hoisted their second-straight championship trophy.

The Aces also had to deal with off-court controversy, facing scrutiny and a league investigation for each player receiving a $100,00 bonus from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority at the start of the season. That situation, coupled with the pressure and expectations of making history and defying odds, did a number on an exhausted Aces team that still made it within two games of yet another WNBA Finals.

A’historic season

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Despite coming short of a third-straight chip, A’ja Wilson had the best season in WNBA history. And the craziest part is that she would’ve traded her individual success for team success because that’s just the leader she is.

Wilson won another M’VP, an Olympic Gold Medal, became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a single season and averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game, which were all career highs. She also announced that her debut A’One signature shoe was on the way as well. Anything that A’ja could’ve done this season besides winning a ring, she did.

What’s next for the Aces?

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Time to reset and recharge. The Aces, for the first time in years, will get a head start on their offseason break. With the pressure of winning a championship having passed, they also will experience some mental and physical ease.

The Aces will have the opportunity to hit the fresh start button this offseason. They’ll have the opportunity to go into next season fully healthy with fresh legs and a clear mind, and with less burdensome expectations riding on their backs. I think, strangely, it’s exactly what the Aces needed and will help them in the long run. Too early to say 2025 WNBA Finals champions?

The No. 1-seed New York Liberty are waiting. Will the No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx or No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun earn the right to challenge them in the 2024 WNBA Finals?

Game 5 of Lynx-Sun, the first decisive game of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs, tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. What must the hometown Lynx do to return to the Finals for the first time since 2017? How can the Connecticut Sun extend the organization’s quest for a first championship?

How the Lynx will win

No one believes in Napheesa Collier more than Lynx fans.

The Minnesota faithful, however, would probably like to see a MV-Phee performance from her during this semifinal series. While she turned in a pair of outstanding efforts in Games 3 and 4 in Uncasville, her performances in Games 1 and 2 in Minneapolis were more muted. The full Collier experience will be required for Minnesota to prevail in Game 5.

Of course, she’ll also need help, which was lacking in Game 4. Courtney Williams, who was excellent in the Lynx’s two wins, was quieter in Game 4, with early foul trouble seeming to disrupt the rhythm of Minnesota’s best playmaker. Although the team shot a respectable 38.5 percent from 3, Bridget Carleton hoisted 11 triples, making only two, while Kayla McBride only got off two 3-pointers, making one. That resulted in 11 points combined from the pair of sharpshooters. That’s insufficient, as their 3-point shooting not only puts points on the board for Minnesota but also creates more spacing in the halfcourt, allowing the Lynx offense to hum at maximum capacity.

Defensively, the Lynx have to keep the Sun out of the paint, or at least make it more difficult for them to score inside. In Game 4, Connecticut scored 50 points in the paint. After Minnesota had assumed the physicality edge in Games 2 and 3, they lost it in Game 4, especially in the second half. Although Minnesota’s strength is their execution, that execution cannot come without aggression. If they can rediscover that combination, on both defense and offense, the Lynx will be back in the Finals, with a chance to become the first WNBA franchise to win five championships.

How the Sun will win

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Somewhat surprisingly, offense, as much as defense, helped the Sun push this series to a fifth and final game.

Connecticut shot nearly 54 percent from the field and over 53 percent from 3, their highest marks of the playoffs. Across 40 regular season games, the Sun only had two superior shooting performances. So while a hot shooting afternoon helped Connecticut avoid elimination, it’s not a sustainable strategy for the Sun.

Rather than hanging 92 points on the Lynx’s top-two defense, the Sun should seek to hold down the Lynx offense. In the second half of Game 4, Connecticut did just that, limiting Minnesota to 32 points after the break. The Sun doubled down on their defensive principles—guarding their yard, not overhelping, getting back in transition—to gum up the Lynx’s offensive machine, which was whirring in the first half. On Tuesday night, it will require two halves of tip-top defense for Connecticut to advance to the Finals for the third time in six seasons.

Sun players also must step up and sink timely shots. In Game 4, Ty Harris was ready for that job. Back in the starting lineup after an early-playoff ankle injury had limited her playing time, she was 4-for-5 from 3 as she led the Sun with 20 points. Harris’ return to the first five pushed Marina Mabrey back to the bench. In Game 5, the Sun need an aggressive, efficient scoring night from her.

It will also be interesting to see if head coach Stephanie White again opts for smaller lineups, frequently playing Harris and Mabrey alongside Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and DiJonai Carrington. In Game 4, Brionna Jones saw just 14 minutes, as the game’s tempo did not match the skillset she brings as a traditional big. Will White and the Sun again seek to neutralize the Lynx’s efforts to push the pace by playing smaller? Or, could Jones’ post play serve as a reliable source of offense in a do-or-die game, which, like most decisive games, could become a grind?

The Finals countdown

Although this matchup may have lacked the glitz of the other semifinal series, where starry super teams from New York and Vegas renewed their rivalry, it’s provided plenty of high-level, yet heated, hoops. Get ready for a chippy and choppy Game 5, featuring shoves, scowls, stares and, hopefully, some down-to-the-wire suspense.

Game information

No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx (2-2) vs. No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun (2-2)

When: Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

How to watch: ESPN2

Lynx injury report: none

Sun injury report: Tiffany Mitchell (out; illness)

The GIST: And just like that, one half of the WNBA Finals is officially set, while the other semi series heads to the best two words in women’s basketball: Game 5. Let’s rock.

No. 1 NY Liberty enact revenge on No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, advance to Finals: Nearly one year after losing to the Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals, NY penned a new ending to the superteam clash yesterday, winning Game 4 76–62 and knocking Vegas out of the postseason.

• As Wilson said, it’s enormously difficult to win back-to-back titles, let alone three in a row. The talented Aces squad was largely unchanged from their two championship runs, but this season was stymied by player injuries, resulting in a roller coaster run that ended in the semis.

No. 3 Connecticut Sun complete comeback, force Game 5 against No. 2 Minnesota Lynx: Trailing by seven points and on the brink of elimination at halftime, the Sun blinded the Lynx in the second half, winning 92–82 after outscoring Minnesota 49-32 in the final two quarters.

• Connecticut’s Ty Harris led the charge, scoring a team-high 20 points and keeping the Sun in the game, even while superstars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner struggled to find their groove in the first half.

• The series now heads back to Minnesota for a winner-take-all Game 5 tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. The Lynx’s Napheesa Collier is pushing to send her team to the Finals for the first time since 2017, but this Sun roster has seen this film before when they reached the championship series in 2022. You don’t want to miss this.