Sun fend off Lynx down stretch behind Alyssa Thomas

Alyssa Thomas scored 17 points and nearly finished with a triple-double as the Connecticut Sun won Game 1 of a WNBA semifinal series, beating the Minnesota Lynx 73-70 in Minneapolis on Sunday night.

Thomas made the Sun’s final two shots with under a minute to play and went 8-for-12 from the floor in addition to piling up 10 rebounds and nine assists. Connecticut also got 20 points from Marina Mabrey and 10 points and 11 boards from DeWanna Bonner.

The Sun held the Lynx to just eight points in the fourth quarter.

“For us, it really came down to getting stops,” Thomas said. “I’m one of the leaders of this team. I’ve been here my whole career. Nothing changes. We’re in the pursuit of a championship.”

Napheesa Collier had 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Minnesota, and Bridget Carleton added 17 points.

The Sun took a three-point lead, 71-68, with 53.8 seconds remaining when Thomas dribbled past Alanna Smith and drove to the basket from the left wing to hit a layup. Smith had five blocks on the night but couldn’t catch up with Thomas as she sank a crucial bucket.

Collier responded on the Lynx’s next possession, slipping a screen, catching a pass from Smith and connecting on a wide-open finger roll. But again, Thomas had an answer, sinking a 15-foot jumper to push the lead back to three points with 12.3 seconds left.

“We really didn’t have a play. I liked the matchup I had on me. When I saw the opening, I took the shot,” Thomas said.

Out of a timeout, Minnesota was forced to settle for a long-range 3-point attempt from Collier on the left wing with Bonner draped over her. The shot clanked off the back iron and the buzzer sounded.

“We respect the hell out of her. We had to scheme for her,” Mabrey said of Collier.

Minnesota led by five points at the end of the third quarter after ending the frame on an 11-3 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Courtney Williams.

Both teams had 13 turnovers, but the Sun scored 16 points off the Lynx’s mistakes while Minnesota mustered only eight points off Connecticut’s miscues.

Before the game, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was presented with the WNBA Coach of the Year award, her fourth, and Collier was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year trophy for the first time in her career.

Bonner appeared in her 83rd playoff game, making her the WNBA’s all-time leader in postseason games played.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Liberty strike first in semifinal series with Aces

Breanna Stewart scored 34 points, Jonquel Jones recorded a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds and the New York Liberty never trailed in their 87-77 Game 1 win over the visiting Las Vegas Aces on Sunday in the WNBA semifinals.

New York opened a 2023 WNBA Finals rematch with an early 10-2 run that set the tone for the game. The Aces cut the Liberty lead to two points on two occasions near the midpoint of the second quarter but could never find a way to get the upper hand.

The win marked New York’s fourth in a row over the two-time defending champions, a run that includes a three-game sweep of the regular-season series. Game 2 of this best-of-five semifinal series is set for Tuesday in New York.

Stewart, Jones and Sabrina Ionescu combined to score all but 19 of the Liberty’s points. Ionescu finished with 21 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

“It’s helped all season, just being able to get into the paint, whether it’s finishing, driving (and) looking to kick, whether it’s dumping to the bigs or just looking to find my shooters,” Ionescu said. “But any time you’re able to get into the paint, it collapses the defense. That’s something I’ve tried to do all season, but (will look to continue to do) especially in this series.”

The trio including Ionescu also went 6-for-12 from 3-point range, accounting for most of New York’s 8-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc. Leonie Fiebich added the other two made triples on four attempts for all six of her points.

Las Vegas, meanwhile, shot 7-for-25 from long range. Kelsey Plum, who scored a team-high 24 points, went 4-for-8 while the rest of the Aces were 3-for-17 from deep.

New York was able to get to the free-throw line more effectively, as well, capitalizing on 19 makes in 23 attempts. Las Vegas was 12-for-15 at the charity stripe.

New York also pressured WNBA Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson, making her work for her 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Six of Wilson’s points came in the final 3:46, with Las Vegas facing a double-digit deficit for the better part of the game’s final minutes.

“The whole (New York defense) is pretty much committed to taking away A’ja,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “She had two, three people on her all night, so we’ve got to do a better job of getting her in space. But also, giving her outlets (to pass to), and that’s just about playing the right way.”

Jackie Young joined Wilson and Plum in double figures with 17 points. Alysha Clark added nine points off the bench, but no other Las Vegas scorer notched more than four points.