The Minnesota Lynx, the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoff bracket, are on the brink of elimination and will be without their head coach and best player.
MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier went down in the waning seconds of the Lynx’s 84-76 Game 3 loss to the Phoenix Mercury and ‘probably has a fracture,’ Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. The Lynx announced Saturday she is out with a left ankle injury.
Reeve’s comments postgame, a rant against officiating in Game 3, earned her a one-game suspension from the WNBA. She will sit out for Game 4 on Sunday.
The Lynx, who lost in the WNBA Finals to New York Liberty last season, will have to regroup if they want to stave off elimination in their best-of-five semifinal series in Phoenix.
“Stay locked. We not out of it. We’re still here. We’re still a great team,’ Lynx guard Courtney Williams said. ‘When it comes to the playoffs or any game, you can’t get too high or get too low.’
For their part, the remade Mercury look to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2021. They won their last title in 2014 with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. After Taurasi retired in the offseason and Griner left for the Atlanta Dream, the Mercury retooled. They are led by triple-double machine Alyssa Thomas.
“This is a team that believes in each other — been overlooked a little all year,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbets said. “But one thing we are is tough and we fight, we compete and we did that in the fourth. We made it hard on every possession and that’s what good defensive teams do.”
What time is Mercury vs. Lynx Game 4?
Game 4 of the WNBA semifinal series between the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx and No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET Sunday at PHX Arena in Phoenix .
How to watch Mercury vs. Lynx WNBA playoffs: TV, stream for Game 3
- Time: 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT)
- Location: PHX Arena (Phoenix)
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: Fubo, ESPN Unlimited
Stream Lynx-Mercury series on Fubo (free trial)