Neither team led by any more than six points, but ultimately, Minnesota was able to force a winner-take-all Game 5 in Brooklyn.
A winner-take-all Game 5 will decide the WNBA champion. The Minnesota Lynx were able to defend their homecourt on Friday night in Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals and, by extension, extend their season by one more game. In a tight affair where no team ever led by more than six points, the Lynx were able to pick up a thrilling, 82-80 victory over the New York Liberty to tie the series up at two games each and send the series back to the Barclays Center.
The first quarter was remarkably tense, with neither team able to create any separation over the game’s opening 10 minutes. The largest lead by either team was four points, with the Liberty and the Lynx trading the lead with one another seven times. There were five ties, as well, and the two teams entered the second all level at 23 each.
Things were not all that much different in the second, as both offenses, in particular, did an excellent job executing and not letting things get out of hand. By the time the two teams went to the locker room at halftime, Minnesota held on tight to a 46-45 lead, which was powered primarily three of their stars: Kayla McBride, who led all scorers with 14 points; Courtney Williams, who went for 13; and Napheesa Collier, who did her usual stuffing of the stat sheet with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
As for the Liberty, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s 10 points led the way, while both Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones had nine.
