Minnesota can't beat New York and now has to find a way to win two games in a row to clinch their 5th title

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Lynx had the start they wanted. They just couldn't take down the New York Liberty.

The Lynx blew a 15-point lead and need two straight wins to win a record fifth WNBA championship after a loss 80-77 to Liberty on a Last second shot from Sabrina Ionescu Wednesday night in Game 3 of the Finals.

Game 4 is Friday evening.

“There are so many ups and downs and fluctuations everywhere, and it takes special mental strength and physical toughness to kind of weather those fluctuations, and here we are,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We are disappointed. We are home. We played well and just couldn’t get the win.”

Minnesota had only led New York for about three minutes in the first two games of the best-of-five series. However, the Lynx came away with a split, playing at home in front of a franchise-record crowd of 19,521 that included former point guard Lindsay Whalen, who was part of the team's four championships.

That motivated the team to get off to a strong start, as Minnesota led by 10 points after one quarter. The Lynx were able to build a 15-point lead in the first half before it evaporated as Breanna Stewart rallied New York.

Minnesota hit 10 of its 20 shots in the opening quarter but was 19 for 55 the rest of the game.

“In any case, we got the shots we wanted. We had good shots, but we just didn’t convert them, and that’s what they did,” Courtney Williams said. “Again, great players make great plays. That’s how the game went.”

Minnesota now has to find a way to win its final two games. Four teams did this in the final after trailing 2-1. The Lynx were the last to do so in 2017. This was also the franchise's last title and last appearance in the championship round.

Phoenix was the only one of the four to lose Games 2 and 3 and still win a championship.

“I feel like they played at the end of the shot clock and like coach said, we looked really good,” said Napheesa Collier, who led Minnesota with 22 points. “We just couldn’t get it done on offense. It’s just hard when you get that, and then obviously they’re a great offensive team.”

Minnesota had to play the final minutes without forward Alanna Smith, who had problems with her back.

Reeve had no update on Smith's status after the game. She finished the game with two points and six rebounds in just under 20 minutes. She didn't play the final 6:06 minutes of the game.

“Give Lan credit. She did everything she could,” Reeve said. “We were over 20 when she was on the floor. So it obviously hurt. Our starting five is a really good starting five, and you know, not having Lan, having foul trouble and then just not feeling like she could go, puts us in a little bit of a bind.”

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AP freelance writer Tyler Mason contributed to this story.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball