The Minnesota Lynx found a second-half gear Thursday night to edge the Phoenix Mercury 80-79 in a WNBA playoff second round elimination game.

The No. 4 seed Lynx trailed by nine at halftime (46-37) and five (57-52) late in the third quarter but erased all of the deficit for a 60-60 tie going into the fourth quarter.

Crystal Dangerfield and Damiris Dantas hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth for a 70-64 lead, and the Lynx managed to hang on despite a pair of four-point plays by Mercury star Diana Taurasi.

The Lynx advance to a best-of-five semifinal series against Las Vegas or Seattle starting Sunday at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The No. 5 Mercury’s season comes to an end.

Taurasi’s second four-pointer cut the Mercury deficit to 78-77 with 3:17 left. She missed on a 3-pointer with a chance for the lead at 2:47 then Odyssey Sims made a 16-footer at 2:12.

Taurasi missed on an off balance runner but rebounded and called timeout at 1:32.

Taurasi missed a 3-pointer at 1:21, but Minnesota could not capitalize.

Skylar Diggins-Smith, on an off shooting night, pulled up for a short jumper, bringing the Mercury again within a point (80-79) with 35.3 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier nearly lost the ball out of bounds. The Lynx retained possession after a video review with 21.8 seconds left.

With 11 seconds on the shot clock, Dangerfield drove to the basket v.s Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. The shot did not come close, and Taurasi rebounded with 14.5 seconds remaining.

Diggins-Smith penetrated and attempted a pass for Brianna Turner that was tipped by Collier. Turner grabbed the ball but stepped out of bounds with 8.1 left.

After two Mercury fouls, the second at 6.1, Dantas missed two free throws. 

Without a timeout, the Mercury brought the ball up court quickly with Diggins-Smith missing a long buzzer-beating attempt.

Dantas had 22 points for the Lynx, Dangerfield 17 (all in the second half) and Sims 14.

Taurasi, now 14-2 in winner-take-all games, had 28 and nine assists, Turner 13 and 14 rebounds and Kia Vaughn 10 points.

Mercury start, end strong in first half 

The Mercury started and finished strong in the first half, leading 46-37 at intermission.

In the first quarter, the Mercury were propelled by a pair of Taurasi 3-pointers and another from Shey Peddy to a 15-2 run to lead 21-9.

Peddy, a hero in the first round Tuesday with a game-winning 3-pointer, made her first WNBA start ahead of Walker-Kimbrough.

Dantas helped Minnesota close the gap to 24-23 at the end of the first.

The Lynx led 35-34 in a more defensive second quarter before the Mercury closed on a 12-2 run for their nine-point halftime edge.

Peddy was hit in the face taking a charge from Sims at 3:48 in the second and did not return until playing a few more minutes in the second half.

Taurasi picked up a technical foul at 3:34 complaining about the lack of a foul call on a baseline drive. 

Taurasi and Walker-Kimbrough made 3-pointers late in the second. Turner scored with 1.3 seconds left, cleaning up a Taurasi air ball 3-point try.

Aces’ Wilson named league MVP 

Las Vegas forward A’ja Wilson was named WNBA Most Valuable Player on Thursday, receiving 43 of 47 first-place votes from a media panel that included The Republic’s Jeff Metcalfe.

Wilson had 458 total points, well ahead of runner-up Breanna Stewart of Seattle. Stewart, the 2018 MVP, had three first-place votes and 308 points.

Los Angeles’ Candace Parker was third (219 points) followed by Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot (135) and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (36). Mercury guards Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith was seventh and 10th (tie) in the voting.

Wilson, in her third WNBA season, averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks during the regular season, leading the Aces to the No. 1 playoff seed. She was second in scoring and sixth in rebounding.

Other award winners announced Thursday were Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve as Coach of the Year and Dangerfield as Rookie of the Year.

Reeve had a 25-17 edge in voting over Las Vegas’ Bill Laimbeer. Dangerfield received 44 of 47 votes and is the second consecutive Lynx Rookie of the Year winner following Collier in 2019.

Up next

The Mercury will open a best-of-five semifinal series against No. 1-seeded Las Vegas on Sunday. The Aces (18-4) had a bye in the first and second rounds. Games 2-3 will be played Tuesday and Sept. 24 with Games 4-5 if necessary on Sept. 27 and 29. The Mercury are 2-0 vs. the Aces this season, winning 102-95 on July 31 and 92-85 on Sept. 1.

Mercury WNBA playoff streak

2013: Western Conference Finals.

2014: Champions.

2015: Western Conference Finals.

2016: Semifinals.

2017: Semifinals.

2018: Semifinals.

2019: First round.

2020: Second round. 

More: Shey Peddy hits buzzer beater in Mercury first round playoff win

More: Mercury guards Taurasi, Diggins-Smith make AP All-WNBA second team

More: Diana Taurasi adds to her legacy with All-WNBA caliber play at age 38

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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