New York Liberty lose Game 4 of WNBA Finals to Minnesota Lynx, 82-80
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Yes, this classic series deserves to go the distance...but the Liberty truly could have won the title on Friday night. It was always going to go five, right?
The New York Liberty may have handed the Minnesota Lynx a stomach-churning punch with Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winner in Game 3, but it could not have been a knockout blow. Not the way this series has gone. Not after the Liberty bounced back from their Game 1 collapse to win the next two, not after the quality and drama of the first three games and 35 minutes of this series.
Are we zooming out too much, though? Maybe the Liberty just lost another game they were supposed to win. Okay, “supposed to” is a bit harsh, given that their biggest lead of the game was seven, given Minnesota was facing elimination on their home floor, where they hadn’t lost two straight all season.
Because the Liberty did take a five-point lead following a back-and-forth first quarter; the offense was clicking despite Breanna Stewart starting the game 0-of-8, and the Lynx were on the ropes. Alanna Smith was gritting through a back injury that had here nearly unable to run by the end of her shifts, Cheryl Reeve was playing 8th and 9th women Dorka Juhasz and Cecilia Zandalasini series-high minutes, searching for support.
But New York could not separate. In the first half, it was their defense, missing the rotations on the perimeter that — for the first time all Finals — were reminiscent of their regular-season losses to Minnesota.
In the second half, it was their offense. After Stewart’s Hall-of-Fame performance in Game 3, she played perhaps her worst game of the season in Game 4. She battled preventable foul trouble, she missed rebounds she normally secures in her sleep, and she didn’t just miss shots, but forced them...
Haven't loved Stewie's offense (aside from the raw misses), feels like Game 1 again. Gotta understand how hard Minnesota is gonna collapse when she catches in the middle: pic.twitter.com/5MoAcgl1vQ— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) October 19, 2024
11/11/4/3/1, but on 5-of-21 shooting. Flashbacks to 2023.
“I think that I was going a little bit too fast,” she said in postgame. “Just needed to slow down. You know, they’re sending multiple people when I’m slipping on a screen, stuff like that. Just a little bit better awareness on my part.”
Stewart did make her only three in the third quarter to give the Libs that seven-point lead in the third, but followed it up with a turnover, a missed rebound, then an unnecessary swipe-down foul on Napheesa Collier as the Lynx went on a 7-0 run to tie the game.
Her teammates would’ve given her more help had she passed the ball a little more — and the reason it’s so frustrating is because we did this exact song-and-dance in Game 1 — but they were uneven. Outside of a Nyara Sabally put-back and a Kayla Thornton three, the bench gave them nothing. Those two and Courtney Vandersloot played a combined 25 minutes, and did not really have a case for more.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored ten points in the first quarter...and did not score again. Sabrina Ionescu was fine, but broke her streak of 23 straight playoff games with a 3-pointer, and she really could’ve used one, putting up 10/6/5 on fifteen shots.
In the second half, which was as tight as they come, it was the Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones show...
I yelled at this. Just an awesome, awesome, against-the-grain skip pass to the corner for JJ's third three of the quarter: https://t.co/GwcD3rVmGP pic.twitter.com/wo9jnDxMMo— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) October 19, 2024
Jones put up 21/8/2/1/2 on just 13 true-shooting possessions (which includes free-throws), including their biggest bucket of the night, an and-1 to tie the game at 80 with a minute left.
“I mean, JJ is great for us, so I think we got to get her more shots. She’s super efficient.”
Those were the words of her co-star Leonie Fiebich, who put up 19 points in a variety of ways. Spot-up threes, post ups, straight up taking Courtney Williams off the dribble; it would have been the perfect crowning performance for the rookie, who pointed out Minnesota was guarding her with “their weaker defenders” with a straight face.
Alas, it was all for naught.
Jones missed a go-ahead turnaround that seductively rolled off the rim with 30 seconds left, and while Stewie got the offensive rebound, the subsequent possession went nowhere, as Brondello did not call timeout.
Said the Liberty Head Coach: “I actually was trying to call a timeout, but they didn’t hear me, so that’s on me ... Maybe I just have to sprint out in the middle of court next time. So I got to be better.”
The worst part is, New York got the stop! Courtney Williams dribbled into a tough, fading 19-footer as one of the league’s worst rebounding teams...got the offensive rebound. And a shooting foul. All at once...
Bridget Carleton was fouled going for the offensive rebound and knocked down both free throws ✨Lynx up by 2 points!#WNBA pic.twitter.com/8TYuK9pMMT— WNBA Universe (@wnbauniverse) October 19, 2024
“Courtney got a shot off. That’s what we wanted. She missed it perfectly for me,” joked Carleton after the game.
It is indeed a foul, though Ionescu called it an “interesting” call postgame. It’s one you don’t want to decide Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, but then the onus would be on Ionescu to do her work a little earlier. Because it is a foul for 40 regular-season games, the first 39 minutes of any playoff game, and yeah, the next minute too. Maybe it’s just one of those things; if the ball bounces anywhere else, we go to overtime. Instead, Ionescu had to chuck a 35-footer with a second left, which made the Target Center nervous but nothing more.
That was not the foul Sandy Brondello was thinking of when she matched Cheryl Reeve’s impassioned ref-related rant from Wednesday night, two days later...
Sandy Brondello on tonight’s officiating:“It pisses me off. It needs to be fair.” pic.twitter.com/hrG1YMKleQ— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) October 19, 2024
“I know Cheryl talked about it last time, but we got no calls today, So do I need to talk up in a press conference?” asked Brondello. “Because they were getting ticky-tacks, and we went down there, then got hit, and get nothing ... I’m one of the nicest bloody coaches in this league, but this pisses me off. Just be fair, you know, if they’re getting hit, it’s a bloody foul.”
There were some questionable non-calls that went against the Liberty’s offense. Stewie taking one free-throw for 21 field-goals is suspect, and a big Jones bucket was wiped off the board in favor of a rough offensive foul call...
Was this an offensive foul? You tell me#LightItUpNYL #SEAFOAMSZN #WNBA pic.twitter.com/qUFHvkOIwa— SSN- New York Liberty (@SSN_Liberty) October 19, 2024
Ultimately, nobody on the Liberty really blamed the referees, just trying to curry a little favor for Sunday. There have been three down-to-the-wire, coin-flip games in this series, and New York has lost two of ‘em. That’s why we’re going back to Brooklyn on Sunday night.
We’re going back because the Liberty didn’t make enough shots, because they maybe didn’t get it to Jones enough, because Stewie played poorly, and so on and so forth.
But you know, this series did deserve five if we’re being real. That make you feel any better?
Final Score: Minnesota Lynx 82, New York Liberty 80
Next Up
Game 5. For everything. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET from the Barclays Center on Sunday night. Get your popcorn ready. ESPN has the game.
Box Score: Minnesota Lynx 82, New York Liberty 80 - WNBA
Game Highlights: Minnesota Lynx 82, New York Liberty 80 (Video) - WNBA
New York’s stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggle in Game 4 loss to Minnesota - Doug Feinberg - AP
Lynx force Game 5 of WNBA Finals on Carleton’s free throws to beat Liberty 82-80 - Doug Feinberg - AP
Alanna Smith fights through a back injury to help Minnesota Lynx even WNBA Finals - Patrick Connelly - AP
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