The Liberty-Lynx series had just about everything – and now there's a Game 5 that's all about the winner

MINNEAPOLIS – That the 2024 WNBA Finals would be decided without a full five-game series was unimaginable. Not with the whiplash momentum swings, double-digit comebacks and top-notch playmaking.

The stereotypical coaches meddle in the post-game responses and the training day scrums are a series in a chess game. They tinker and make small adjustments for the upper hand. It's been difficult to determine whether the New York Liberty or the Minnesota Lynx truly have the edge at any point in a heavyweight battle that could go down as one of the most evenly contested Finals in WNBA history.

With this came exciting moves, shocking endings and strange decisions. Two of the three biggest lost leads in Finals history. Three games were decided in the last seconds. Game winners were Napheesa Collier, whose fadeaway stunned Liberty's Barclays Center in overtime of Game 1, and Sabrina Ionescu, who sent a white Target Center as calm as snow in Game 3. X-Factor performances from Liberty winger Betnijah Laney-Hamilton , who is nursing a knee injury, and Lynx center Alanna Smith, who is dealing with back problems.

And a Game 4 that encapsulated everything that had come before even more as time on the season clock ran out.

“Probably information gathered over the three games (which made this game closer),” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It's getting more and more difficult. The advantage that the other games may have given each team is no secret at this point.”

For the first time in the series, the game was close from tip to buzzer. Neither team built a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and the lead never wavered by more than six points. Minnesota survived 14 lead changes and 13 ties on Friday night to keep its season alive at 82-80 and force a fifth game in New York on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

It was another exciting chapter in one of the wildest finales in history.

Bridget Carleton, who hadn't quite found her rhythm in the series, scored the decisive points with free throws. Ionescu wrapped her hands around Carleton and tried to box out when Courtney Williams' mid-range shot bounced wide and Carleton attempted a tip-in. It is the second time that Ionescu has fouled a shooter in the last 10 seconds, the first time after a 3-pointer by Williams in Game 1. Minnesota also won that one.

It's a prime example of how quickly a superstar can go from a historic moment in one game to a major mistake in the next game. It happens on both sides. There was never much room for error, but four games later it's even smaller. Game 5 will be the ninth meeting between Liberty and Lynx in 2024. They all know their personnel and are mostly focused on executing the game plan every 48 to 72 hours. It's about who can come out to take the final step.

“Elite players play,” Reeve said. “No matter what environment, at home, on the street, elite players play. They love the environment and do not let it influence them. That’s why you see the series is what it is: winning on someone else’s playing field.”

Ionescu broke free over Kayla McBride and hit the dagger in Game 3, but on Friday it was McBride who held the star to 10 points on 5 of 15 shooting and zero 3s. Liberty MVP candidate Breanna Stewart won her battle in Game 3 with 30 points, but on Friday it was Napheesa Collier who helped lead Stewart to 11 points (5 of 21 shooting) and 11 rebounds.

“It's getting harder every time to get the shots you normally get,” Collier said. “Everyone is out there doing the same thing. Hit hard.”

The only hint in the finale script is that anything is possible and the absurd is the most likely. After WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced before the finale that the series would switch to a best-of-seven, jokes began circulating that she would randomly show up and announce a 2024 start date instead. The series fulfills this anticipation. The first three finals averaged at least one million viewers, a remarkable figure and the first since 2003.

“I’m excited to see the ratings for this game,” Reeve said.

The nature of the games largely sparked interest. Now the Finals may also have picked up steam to cap off a quiet series, at least compared to the heated rivalry between the Liberty and Aces in last year's Finals. After Game 3, Reeve called the officiating and the “special whistle.”

“The game will certainly be called different for Phee than it was for Stewie,” Reeve said Wednesday. “You see the same level of activity and contact around the rim. For some reason we have a hard time getting to the foul line in this series.”

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, a typically positive, half-full person, took her chance after Game 4 to answer a question about Ionescu and Stewart's slow play.

“We haven’t received any calls today,” Brondello said. “So do I have to speak in a press conference? Because they got nervous. And we went there, got hit and got nothing.

“All we want is fair, okay? So if we get hit, it's a foul. You know, I'm one of the nicest coaches in this league, but this makes me angry. Just be fair. You know, if they get hit, it’s a damn foul.”

Everything will come to a head in the first fifth final game since 2019 and the last winner-take-all game. The only sure prediction is a sell-out crowd.

“The last 40 minutes of the season could really be played anywhere,” McBride said. “That doesn't matter. It's like we're out there together, going to war. And I’m thrilled.”

Liberty players and coaches have said ad nauseam over the last month that they haven't done anything yet. Toppling the Aces to avenge their 2023 Finals meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Friday's loss was the one-year anniversary of their Game 4 loss to Las Vegas, which played without two starters due to injuries.

“All that happened tonight is the series is even,” Stewart said. “And there is a Game 5 where the winner takes all. We’ll go back to New York and get it done.”