Minnesota Lynx force deciding Game 5 in WNBA Finals with dramatic 82-80 win at home

This series was destined to go five games.

Add another game to the list of dramatic endings in the 2024 WNBA Finals. This time it was Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton who proved the hero, getting fouled by Sabrina Ionescu on a putback with two seconds left on the clock, then draining what proved to be the game-winning free throws to put Minnesota up 82-80.

(New York fans will say that’s a ticky-tack foul to call at that moment, but intentional or not Ionescu took out Carleton’s legs and landing spot, that’s a foul at any point in the game.)

Ionescu had another chance for heroics in the final seconds but her fadeaway, contested 3 to win the game was long and the Lynx were doing their victory dance.

Minnesota’s win forces a deciding Game 5 back in Brooklyn on Sunday — the victor that night gets the parade and the rings.

Game 4 was the tightest in the series, with 13 ties and 14 lead changes on a night where neither team ever led by more than six.

Minnesota’s real key was their league-best defense, which they focused on New York’s stars — Breanna Stewart and Ionescu combined to shoot 10-of-36 (27.8%), including going 0-of-9 from 3. Defenders got out much higher on Ionescu and took away her space, and with that, she shot 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, snapping her 82-game streak — and 23-game streak in the playoffs — with a 3. The Lynx did the same thing to Stewart all over the court, throwing multiple defenders at her and being physical.

The Lynx dared the other Liberty players to step up and beat them — and Jonquel Jones almost did. The former MVP — who can almost fly under the radar on a Liberty team with Stewart and Ionescu — finished the night with 21 points and eight rebounds, was 4-of-5 from 3 and had the game-tying and-1 that set up the dramatic ending.

Minnesota’s points came from a more balanced attack, with every starter in double-digits.

Kayla McBride was hot early with 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 19 points, hitting 4-of-5 from 3, and dishing out four assists. Courtney Williams added 15 points and seven assists, while Napheesa Collier scored 14.

Fans can only hope Game 5 on Sunday is as exciting as Game 4.

Neither team could create separation all night — New York went on a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead in the third quarter, only to have the Lynx close the quarter on a 9-2 run to be up 64-63 after three. It was back and forth like that all game, tied at 23-23 after one quarter, the Lynx were up just one at the half 46-45.

If the Lynx are going to win the franchise’s fifth title, and do it on the road, they are going to need another defensive performance like this one and clean up their shooting in the paint and at the free throw line (15-of-20 in this game) — they can’t leave points on the floor. And Collier is going to have to step up with her best game of the playoffs.

The Liberty — historically 0-5 in the WNBA Finals and trying to break that streak — will have the home crowd behind them but it will not matter if Stewart, Ionescu and Jones don’t step up with huge games. For all the quality depth the Liberty have, they need their stars to show out under the brightest of lights.

As it should be — this WNBA Finals had to go five games.