WNBA playoffs: Lynx beat Sun in Game 5, will face Liberty in WNBA Finals

The Minnesota Lynx will face the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals, and that was pretty clear about eight minutes into their WNBA semifinal Game 5 against the Connecticut Sun.

Facing a Sun team that recently beat them seven straight times in Minnesota, the Lynx steamrolled their way to a trip to New York with an 88-77 win at home.

Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Napheesa Collier, the WNBA MVP runner-up and Defensive Player of the Year, led the way with 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Per ESPN Stats & Info, she is the first player to post 25 points and 10 rebounds in three straight playoff games.

The Liberty-Lynx Finals will be a matchup between the top teams in the regular-season standings, the best teams in the East and West and the top offensive (Liberty) and defensive (Lynx) teams in the league.

Lynx rode a huge 1st quarter, then a huge 2nd quarter, then ...

The first half was all Lynx. Minnesota led 53-34 as it ran to the locker room, with Collier, Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride all scoring in double figures. Williams in particular was a menace for the Suns, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field with four assists and one turnover.

The game started to turn in the second half, but not for long. Connecticut opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to narrow the lead to deficit points, but went ice cold long enough for the Lynx to turn the game into a rout again. For five full minutes, the Sun's score stayed at 41 points as the team missed six straight shots and committed five turnovers.

It wasn't the prettiest quarter for the Lynx, who didn't score a point in the first two or last two minutes in the frame, but it was enough to leave the result all but certain by the time the fourth quarter started. Even when the Sun cut the lead to 12 points with three minutes left.

Can the Lynx upset the Liberty?

This will be the Lynx's first trip to the WNBA Finals since winning their fourth title in 2017. This team is very different from that team, which featured Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Lindsay Whalen and more.

Different isn't necessarily worse, but the 2024 Lynx will enter the Finals as the underdog rather than a team trying to add to a dynasty. They could be well-suited to the role, as a team that ranked No. 2 in the NBA in defensive rating and just outlasted the No. 1 team in a five-game series.

The Liberty reached the Finals after a four-game series win over the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces. New York led the league with a 32-8 record in the regular season and didn't have trouble advancing through the playoffs, save for a vintage Aces performance in Game 3. Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones are a tough assignment even for an elite defense.

Then again, Collier is pretty good, as is Williams, as is McBride. The Lynx were only two wins worse than the Liberty in the regular season, and can show the WNBA isn't in its superteam age with a few more wins.

Is this it for the Sun?

Tuesday could end up being the last game of an era for the Sun.

Connecticut has been one of the most consistently good teams in the WNBA for years and weathered losing Jones to the Liberty after 2022, but four of its five starters just became free agents. Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington and Brionna Jones were all key players this season.

Keeping all four won't be easy (Carrington is at least a restricted free agent), but the bigger question might be what they would do after. Thomas and Bonner are both above the age of 30, and it's not like the Sun are trying to keep together a recent championship team. There will be difficult questions in Connecticut this season.