With finals tied 1-1, Lynx determined not to return to NY

MINNEAPOLIS — Courtney Williams and her Minnesota Lynx teammates split their first two games on the road against the New York Liberty in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

On the whole, they enjoyed the trip. They appreciated playing in New York.

But they would love it if they did not return.

The Lynx and Liberty will battle for a 2-1 edge in the series when they tip off in Game 3 on Wednesday night. The teams will remain in Minneapolis for Game 4.

“That’s the motto right now,” Williams said. “That’s what we keep saying. Every time I walk by one of my teammates, I say, ‘We can’t go back to New York.’

“It’s such a tough environment. They have some great fans over there, and obviously when you have that home-court advantage, you have a different type of momentum. So now we’re not trying to go back to New York. That’s it.

“We’re in front of our fans now. We’re going to have that momentum.”

The Lynx erased an 18-point deficit on their way to posting a 95-93 overtime win in Game 1. The Liberty bounced back in Game 2, pulling away for an 80-66 victory.

Liberty star Breanna Stewart said of her team, “We got our rhythm and momentum back in Game 2. (We were) just kind of picking up things offensively and defensively, bringing them to another level and knowing that it’s not going to get any easier from here.

“This is the Finals. It’s only going to get harder. But (we’re) excited for the atmosphere and no one cheering for us, and everybody cheering against us.”

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier leads the WNBA with an average of 25.2 points per game in the playoffs. She also is averaging 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.7 steals as the Lynx’s do-everything leader in the postseason.

Stewart is the Liberty’s top performer with 19.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in the playoffs. Teammate Sabrina Ionescu is averaging 19.8 points, 5.0 boards and 4.9 assists.

Ionescu said New York had a good read on what Minnesota was doing on defense.

“Going back and watching film (of Game 2), we weren’t even scratching the surface of how good we could be,” Ionescu said. “We still made so many mistakes offensively, but I think that’s exciting going into this next game. We can control a lot of that and continue to figure out what our best shot is offensively and how we can get it.”

Meanwhile the Lynx feel fully capable of defending the Liberty -— as well as defending their home court in front of fans ready to see their first WNBA Finals action since 2017.

“We have a huge crowd coming,” Collier said. “We always call them our sixth man here. The energy is going to be amazing.” — Reuters