MINNEAPOLIS — Lynx head coach Sheryl Reeve knew this statistic even before it was mentioned during Tuesday's team practice ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at Target Center.
Minnesota held the lead in the best-of-five series for just 3 minutes, 17 seconds, all of which came in Game 1. Only 4.7 of those seconds were in regulation, according to ESPN, while Liberty held the lead for the game. An overwhelming 81:43 in the series.
Nevertheless, with the series tied 1-1, Liberty struggled to hold the lead late in both games.
The Lynx managed to dig themselves out of a gaping hole in each game.
Only one game resulted in a victory, but in the first and second games, leads were narrowed to 18 points and 17 points, respectively, in the final stages.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said the failure to lead was due to “minor details” that needed to be improved.
“It's a really good team. As much as we would like to maintain this lead, we kind of know that at this level you can't blow teams by 30 points,” she said Tuesday. “So, they're going to do everything. We just handled the run better in the second game than we did in the first game. … Every possession is important. The execution is important. The ball's execution is important. Handling matters. In moments like this, every little thing counts. It's the difference between winning and losing.”
Liberty had fewer turnovers than the Lynx in Game 2, three more than the 15 in Game 1, but still scored 17 points, the same as the Lynx.
Limiting turnovers and momentum-changing plays will be critical for Liberty in addition to continuing to set the tone early. In Game 2, as Brianna Stewart noted, the Lynx forced them to “scramble,” fighting from behind while creating defensive mismatches and seizing a chance to score in the final moments.
Liberty holds the best record on the road during the regular season (16-4), and Stewart said after Game 2 that he was “embracing” being on the road. However, the Lynx are a strong home team as they went 16-4 in the regular season.
The Lynx don't think it's necessary to gather again to support the crowd, which is expected to be sold out.
“We've got to give them a fight. We can't come out of this game and say, 'Oh, we'll give you a fight.' You have to accept it. We have to accept that,” Minnesota point guard Courtney Williams said. “You can't win games by digging a hole for yourself and spending all your energy trying to get out of the hole without leaving anything in the tank.
“For the first five minutes, just start punching. Just punch.”
In the four regular season meetings between the two teams, including the Commissioner's Cup final, the Lynx did just that, leading by as many as 13 points at halftime in two of the three wins.
“If they just make a play and lose the game, fine, we can live with that,” Williams said. “But you can't lose a game with energy and effort and an aggressive atmosphere. Honestly, that's what it was like in Game 2. We let them punch us in the mouth and then we were busy laying low. 'And when we were able to get a little punch, they avoided it so they could eat it. So we have to come forward and put pressure on them. ”
