Napheesa Collier scores 38 as Lynx fend off Mercury 102-95 in playoff opener

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored a playoff career-high 38 points and the Minnesota Lynx blew a 23-point lead before rallying late to beat the Phoenix Mercury 102-95 on Sunday in Game 1 of a best-of-three series.

Minnesota, the Western Conference champions and No. 2 seed, turned a 32-19 first-quarter lead into a 50-27 advantage with 5:35 left before halftime. Phoenix whittled nine points off its deficit, trailing 56-42 at intermission, and closed within 77-69 heading to the fourth quarter.

Kahleah Copper scored five points in a 10-2 run and her 3-pointer followed by two free throws by Brittney Griner gave seventh-seeded Phoenix its first lead since scoring the first four points of the game. Natasha Cloud’s layup put the Mercury on top 92-91 with 2:06 left to play, but Myisha Hines-Allen answered with a layup and Bridget Carleton hit a 3-pointer in a 9-0 spurt to pull out the victory.

Collier sank 11 of 19 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers and 13 of 14 free throws for Minnesota. She added six rebounds and four assists. Kayla McBride hit three 3-pointers and all seven of her foul shots, scoring 20. Carleton had 12 points, six boards and four assists, and Hines-Allen added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Cloud had 33 points, matching her postseason high, and 10 assists to lead Phoenix. Diana Taurasi made half of her 10 3-point attempts and scored 21. Copper added 16 points, and Griner finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

Collier finished four points shy of Breanna Stewart’s playoff-record 42-point effort. Stewart scored 42 points while playing for the Seattle Storm in a 97-92 loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of a Western Conference semifinal in 2022.

Minnesota won three of four games — all by double digits — against Phoenix during the regular season. The Mercury beat the visiting Lynx 81-80 for their lone victory.

The Lynx will host Game 2 at the Target Center on Wednesday. Phoenix will host Game 3 on Thursday if necessary.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball