Collier, Lynx clinch No. 2 seed with win 78-76 win over Sun

Sep. 18—MOHEGAN — All the story lines coming into the game were no longer the story lines late Tuesday night, as the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx traded leads for what could have rivaled the Kentucky Derby for the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.

Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton hit the game-winning 3-point field goal with 4.6 seconds remaining to give the Lynx a pulsating 78-76 victory and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming WNBA playoffs, a distinction the Sun were still vying for when the night began.

But Carleton’s 3 was the eighth lead change in the final 2 minutes, 25 seconds, as the Sun, trailing by nine when the fourth quarter began, came back to take the lead on four separate occasions before a crowd of 8,174 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“They just made one more play, a heck of a shot, certainly, by Carleton,” said Sun coach Stephanie White, proud of her team’s mettle if not the ultimate outcome. “We just couldn’t finish it out and they made a heck of a play.”

The Sun (27-12), already guaranteed a home playoff series beginning Sunday, can clinch the No. 3 seed with a win Thursday at home against the Chicago Sky. If Connecticut earns the third seed, it would face off against the sixth-ranked Indiana Fever and rookie phenom Caitlin Clark.

The New York Liberty locked up the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with Tuesday night’s victory over the Washington Mystics.

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, one of the topics of conversation headed into Tuesday’s game along with the playoff picture, finished with 25 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, two assists and two steals for the Lynx (30-9).

Kayla McBride finished with 14 points for Minnesota, Carleton 13 points and Courtney Williams 12 assists.

Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists for Connecticut, DiJonai Carrington 15 points and Marina Mabrey 13.

Collier, the former UConn All-American who won her second Olympic gold medal earlier this year in Paris, came into the game averaging 20.3 points, 9.8 points and 3.4 assists, with an average of 19.4 points over the last five games.

“She’s not just a challenge today, she’s a challenge every day,” White said of Collier. “… I think it was last year when we played them in the playoffs. I mean, she was having an MVP-caliber season a year ago. She’s just taken it to another level.”

With Connecticut pulling within 69-67 on a 3-pointer by DeWanna Bonner, the Sun took the lead at 70-69 on Carrington’s three-point play with 2:25 left. Williams flipped the lead into Minnesota’s favor at 71-69 before a tip-in from Thomas put the Sun back in front.

Collier scored for Minnesota, giving the Sun the ball back down one with 36.6 seconds to play. Mabrey scored from Thomas put the Sun ahead 74-73. Clutch baskets followed by Collier with 12.8 seconds left, a fadeaway assisted by McBride, and then by Bonner, who gave Connecticut a 76-75 edge with 8.5 seconds remaining.

Minnesota took a timeout, advancing the ball to its half of the floor for the final sequence.

“We always go back and forth with them,” Thomas said of the Lynx, who the Sun could face again in the playoffs. “They’re a well-oiled machine, (but) there’s a lot to take from this. We see how the playoff standings are and there’s a possibility to get another chance and, yeah, we’re excited.”

Minnesota led 42-37 at halftime behind 14 points from Collier and nine from McBride.

The teams were tied at 22 after the first quarter and still tied with 4:42 remaining in the second when a 3-pointer by Mabrey knotted things at 36-all. But Minnesota’s Alanna Smith followed that with a layup, Collier added a layup and McBride made a pair of free throws as the Lynx went on a 6-0 run to grab the lead at the break.

The Sun came into the game 2-0 against the Lynx this season, winning 83-82 in overtime May 3 in Connecticut and 78-73 July 4 at Minnesota. The Lynx, however, are 13-1 since the Olympic break, including Sunday’s 88-79 victory over first-place New York in Brooklyn.

“Certainly they’re clicking on all cylinders. They’re playing at a high level, getting contributions from everybody that steps foot on the floor,” White said of Minnesota.

“One of the toughest things about playing a team like Minnesota is that they are balanced. You can’t just key on two or three different players and force everybody else to beat you. You’ve got to guard all five positions all the time and so for us we’ve got to be really disciplined. … All five are moving all the time and so the minute you relax, you’re dead.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com