Lynx force Game 5 of WNBA Finals on Carleton’s free throws to beat Liberty 82-80

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With their season on the line, the Minnesota Lynx did just enough to stave off elimination and force a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

Bridget Carleton made two free throws with 2 seconds left, and the Lynx beat the New York Liberty 82-80 on Friday night. The teams will meet Sunday night in New York in the first Game 5 of the Finals since 2019, when Washington topped Connecticut.

“Last 40 minutes of the season, it could be anywhere, really, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to be out there together going to war and I’m pumped,” said Kayla McBride, who led the Lynx with 19 points.

Courtney Williams added 15 points for Minnesota, which forced Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu into poor shooting nights. Ionescu’s heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim.

“I think we’re excited,” Napheesa Collier said. “It’s a Game 5 of the Finals. We have to go out and execute.”

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve is no stranger to winner-take-all games. She coached Minnesota in three straight ones from 2015-17, winning two.

“I don’t think about the other ones,” Reeve said. “I feel very blessed in my career to have a chance to been a part of so many. I haven’t won them all. … What I’m thrilled about is that this group gets to experience the Game 5.”

Unlike the first three games of the series, when one of the teams built a double-digit lead, this one was tight throughout. There were 14 lead changes and 13 ties, and neither team led by more than six.

“It’s a close-out game. Their backs are against the wall and we are trying to win,” said Jonquel Jones, who led New York with 21 points. “It was going to be that type of game tonight where we are both trying to claw and both teams are trying to figure out whatever to do to get over the hump.”

With the game tied at 80-all with 18 seconds left, Williams dribbled to run the clock down and missed a jumper with a few seconds left. Carleton got the rebound in the lane and was fouled by Ionescu.

“She got the shot off and missed it perfectly for me,” Carleton said. “We talked about it after. She wanted to get it high and off the rim.”

The 27-year-old Canadian calmly made both free throws, and Ionescu was unable to duplicate her heroics in Game 3, when she made a 28-footer with 1 second left to give the Liberty a 2-1 series lead.

“I was pretty confident. I’m a confident free-throw shooter,” Carleton said.

Leonie Fiebich added 19 for New York. Stewart, who scored 30 points in Game 3, had 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting, and Ionescu was 5 of 16 from the floor and scored 10.

Minnesota stands one victory away from a record fifth WNBA title, which would break a tie with the Houston Comets and Seattle Storm. The Liberty are looking for their first title and have lost in the Finals five times. The team was one of the original eight franchises when the league began in 1997 and is the only one left of that group not to have won it all.

New York lost to Las Vegas in last season’s Finals. Friday night marked the one-year anniversary of the Game 4 clincher last season for the Aces.

The Lynx reached the Finals for the first time since 2017, when they won the last of four championships in seven years.

Minnesota built a 77-72 lead with 3:14 left on Carleton’s 3-pointer before New York scored eight of the next 11 points, including a three-point play by Jones with 1:10 left that tied it at 80.

Both teams had chances before Carleton’s free throws. McBride missed a layup with 56 seconds left, but the Lynx forced a shot-clock violation on the other end when Stewart’s shot in the lane missed with 18 seconds left.

“We wanted to get it done tonight. But like (coach) Sandy (Brondello) said, our fans are like no other, and to be able to go into our environment on Sunday, know they have our backs,” Stewart said. “So whenever there are tough situations, whenever we’re fighting through all of this adversity, we know we have the crowd behind us. That’s just going to continue to motivate us. Yeah, can’t wait for Sunday.”

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