PHOENIX (AP) — Alyssa Thomas scored 23 points, and DeWanna Bonner made two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Phoenix Mercury overcame a 13-point deficit in the final period to beat the short-handed Minnesota Lynx 86-81 in Game 4 on Sunday night. The victory advances Phoenix to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2021.
Phoenix will face the winner of the Indiana-Las Vegas series in the championship round. Earlier on Sunday, Indiana forced a decisive Game 5 with a 90-83 home victory over Las Vegas. The Mercury won the final three games of the best-of-five semifinal series to secure their spot.
The top-seeded Lynx were playing without head coach Cheryl Reeve, who was suspended for Game 4 due to her behavior and comments toward officials in Game 3. Minnesota also missed All-Star guard Napheesa Collier, who suffered an ankle injury near the end of the Game 3 loss.
Despite trailing 68-55 heading into the fourth quarter, Phoenix rallied. Sami Whitcomb’s 3-pointer with 4:46 left cut the deficit to 70-69. Bonner then hit a 3-pointer to give the Mercury a 72-70 lead, followed by another 3 with 2:03 remaining that pushed the lead to 77-73. Minnesota’s Kayla McBride responded with her sixth 3-pointer of the second half to cut it to 77-76 with 1:04 left.
Bonner, 38, sealed the win by making a pair of free throws to extend Phoenix’s lead to 79-76. She finished with 11 points in the fourth quarter alone. Satou Sabally led Minnesota with 21 points, while McBride scored a game-high 31 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Courtney Williams added 20 points for the Lynx.
Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper gave the Mercury their first lead of the game early in the third quarter with a 3-pointer, putting them ahead 41-38. However, the Lynx responded with a 23-9 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers from McBride. Minnesota had jumped out to an early 12-1 lead, but Phoenix steadily chipped away at the deficit.
Thomas connected with Bonner for a layup just before halftime to tie the game at 38. Sabally led Phoenix with 18 points in the first half.
Phoenix will make its first Finals appearance in four years, aiming to win its first championship since 2014.
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FEVER 90, ACES 83
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — All-Star center Aliyah Boston finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points to help the Indiana Fever avoid elimination in the WNBA semifinals with a 90-83 victory over the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces.
The best-of-five series is now tied 2-2, with a winner-take-all Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday in Las Vegas. The winner will advance to face either top-seeded Minnesota or fourth-seeded Phoenix in the Finals.
Indiana closed out the game after Las Vegas mistakenly called a timeout it did not have with 30.1 seconds remaining. The technical foul awarded Indiana one free throw and possession of the ball. The Fever made all three free throws to take an 87-77 lead, sealing the victory.
For this game, the Fever donned their Stranger Things uniforms, perhaps as a message that they would not let the high-powered Aces dominate despite missing four key players: Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, and Aari McDonald, all sidelined due to injuries.
Boston and Mitchell led the Fever to their second straight elimination-game victory in this year’s playoffs, building on their success in the final two games against Atlanta in the first-round best-of-three series.
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