WNBA playoffs: Sun advance to face Liberty in semifinals after beating Lynx in Game 3

Connecticut reaches the semis for the fifth straight season

The Connecticut Sun took care of business on the road on Wednesday night, beating the Minnesota Lynx, 90-75, in the deciding Game 3 of their first-round series. With the win, the Sun have advanced to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season, which is tied for the longest active streak in the league. 

Save for a Lynx run at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, it was all Sun, who got off to a terrific start and never trailed. They led by as much as 19, and were ahead by double-digits for the entire second half. This was the third consecutive winner-take-all game the Sun have won dating back to last season. 

As per usual, it was the Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner show for the Sun. That duo combined for 53 points, 16 rebounds and 18 assists. They did get a helping hand from Ty Harris, who stepped up off the bench with 18 points in the best playoff outing of her young career. 

Napheesa Collier led the way for the Lynx in defeat, finishing with 31 points and five rebounds to set a new playoff career-high in scoring. She did not get any help, however, as the rest of the Lynx combined for 44 points on 15 of 41 from the field. 

Connecticut will open the semifinals against the Liberty in New York on Sunday afternoon.

Here are some key takeaways from the game:

Bonner makes history

Among active players, no one has played more playoff games than DeWanna Bonner, who suited up for the 76th time in the postseason on Wednesday night. It was no surprise, then, that she looked more comfortable in a win-or-go-home environment than any other player on the floor. 

Bonner helped set the tone early as the Sun jumped out to a quick lead, and never looked back. She finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks on 8-of-13 shooting to record the ninth 25-point, 10-rebound, five-assist game in playoff history. If you want to throw blocks in there just for fun, it's only her and Candace Parker. 

That's fitting, as Bonner joined Parker in a different club during Game 3. With a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, Bonner became the fifth player to reach 1,000 career playoff points. After reaching 500 career playoff rebounds earlier in this series, Bonner is now one of three players, along with Parker and Tamika Catchings, to have 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in the postseason. 

Bonner often goes overlooked, both in present day and historic discussions because she's never been her team's best player. However, she's one of the better second/third stars the league has ever seen, and continues to prove as much even late into her career. 

Harris steps up

After spending the first three seasons of her career with the Dallas Wings, Tyasha Harris was traded to the Sun last winter as part of the Jonquel Jones blockbuster. While her inclusion largely flew under the radar, she became an important piece off the bench for the Sun, and led the league in 3-point shooting at 46.4%. 

 In Game 1, she chipped in 12 points off the bench and made all three of her 3-point attempts, which helped the Sun cruise to a 30-point win. She was a no-show in Game 2, however, scoring just two points on 1 of 6 from the field, as the Sun lost at home. Like the rest of the team, she needed to get back to being desicive and shooting the ball with confidence if they wanted to get a season-saving road win on Wednesday. 

That's just what she did, pouring in a playoff career-high 18 points on 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point land. Her surge in the middle of the second quarter, in which she scored seven points in two-minute span to push the Sun's lead back to double-digits, essentially ended the game. 

Harris' clutch performance was essentially the difference in the game. While all the stars showed up for both teams, Harris provided a big scoring boost off the bench for the Sun, while the Lynx's supporting cast didn't offer star forward Napheesa Collier any help. Heading into the semifinals, the Sun are going to need Harris to continue shooting the ball well in order to keep up with the New York Liberty's high-powered offense. 

A requiem for the Lynx

A few months ago, the Lynx were 0-6 and appeared to be in for another long season as they continued their rebuild. Instead, they did a complete 180 and went 19-15 after that point to become the second team in league history to make the playoffs after starting 0-6 and earn the No. 6 seed. Then, they took their turnaround a step further by becoming the only lower seed to win a game in the first round.

While they ultimately fell short against a much better Sun team, this was an impressive season for the Lynx, who could have easily folded after their poor start. That they didn't was a credit to long-time head coach Cheryl Reeve and Collier. After missing the majority of last season while on maternity leave, Collier returned to her best this summer and put the team on her back. She's likely going to finish in the top-five of the MVP voting, and she proved she's capable of being a franchise player.

Collier's continued evolution is the main reason to be excited about Minnesota's future, but rookies Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhasz also showed a lot of promise this season; the Lynx were the only playoff team starting multiple rookies. With another top-seven pick on the way in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Lynx will have one of the best young cores in the league. 

[Sep 20, 2023 at 9:44 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Harris stepping up off the bench

Ty Harris just keeps knocking down shots. She's hit a few more 3-pointers here and is up to 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field. Her big night has been the difference in the game so far. She stepped up to support DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, while no one on the Lynx has done the same to help Napheesa Collier

[Sep 20, 2023 at 9:33 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Collier doing everything she can

Napheesa Collier is trying to put the Lynx on her back tonight. She just drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 13 and force a Sun timeout. She's now up to 27 points on the night, but no one else on the team has more than six points and Tiffany Mitchell is the only other player to hit more than two shots

[Sep 20, 2023 at 9:27 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Third quarter: Sun 65 -- Lynx 49

The Sun weren't able to run away in the third quarter, but they held serve, which was really all they needed to do. It's still been all DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas for the Sun; those two have combined for 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. As a team, they're shooting 50.9% from the field

[Sep 20, 2023 at 9:23 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Lynx missing some opportunities

The Lynx had a chance in the last few minutes to get this back to a manageable deficit, but they've missed some good looks, including a blown layup by Napheesa Collier. They're starting to run out of town now with the third quarter winding down

[Sep 20, 2023 at 9:14 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Bonner has been awesome

DeWanna Bonner has been the best player on the floor tonight, and just drained another 3-pointer to push the Sun's lead to 19 and force a Lynx timeout. She's up to 20 points, four rebounds and three assists on 7-of-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point land. Big time game from the veteran forward