Every time the Phoenix Mercury have taken the court in this year’s playoffs, overtime has somehow followed once every series. Tonight was no different. And with the buzzer, the Mercury balanced the series and reminded everyone why they’re always a threat to pull off the next big upset, just like they did against the defending champions in the first round. But Phee wasn’t about to stay quiet after the embarrassing result.

Collier made her expectations clear for the next game, laying down a simple but firm challenge for the team. “Just playing our defense, and making sure we limit our turnovers. I don’t think our defense was the same in the second half as it was in the first half. We need to get back to taking away the easy things and making their shots hard.”

Napheesa Collier of Lynx, after missing her MVP, hoped to make her 29th birthday by taking a step closer to the Finals. For a while, it did look like the night might go according to plan. Through the first half and into the midway point of the third quarter, the Mercury struggled to find rhythm. But things changed quickly, and in the end, they pulled off an 89-83 overtime victory, leaving the crowd silent… and Phee, for once, not exactly thrilled.

Did you know? The Phoenix Mercury secured just their second comeback victory in franchise history when trailing by 15 or more points at halftime.

Napheesa Collier and her teammates struggled defensively tonight, allowing the Mercury to shoot 40.6% from beyond the arc while only managing 25% themselves. Lynx clearly didn’t do enough to contest shots, as Phoenix poured in 36 points in the paint along with 14 fast-break points. Even players like Satou Sabally, who went 0‑5 from deep last game, managed to score a playoff career-high five three-pointers.

But for much of the game, the Lynx seemed in control. They held a 20-point lead after Collier sank a three-pointer with 5:45 left in the third quarter, but everything unraveled after that. Collier explained the collapse, saying, “Phoenix did a good job of being aggressive, but I think we beat ourselves, you know, unforced turnovers. Not taking care of the ball when they were pressuring us. I think keeping our composure in those situations is huge.”

The entry of 29-year-old rookie Kathryn Westbeld turned the tide for the Mercury. She was everywhere on the court, finishing with 8 points, including two clutch three-pointers, along with a rebound and two steals, cutting the Lynx’s lead to just 8 by the end of the third quarter. It was the kind of game-changing performance every coach dreams of, especially as the bench outscored Minnesota 25–3.

Another major factor was how the Lynx kept giving the ball away. They committed 17 turnovers, leading to 21 points for the Mercury. Late in the fourth quarter, a miscommunication led to a 5-second violation when the team tried to call a timeout but failed to do so. Instead of fouling to stop the clock and send the Mercury to the free-throw line, the Lynx failed to do it as well, letting Phoenix waste precious time and forcing them to run the clock.

It was a night full of sloppy mistakes, and coach Cheryl Reeve addressed these issues.

Napheesa Collier’s coach gets candid about the issues

During Game 1, it was the Lynx who staged a comeback from 9 points down to steal the win. A big part of it came down to how Napheesa Collier and the team defended against the Mercury’s “flat action” play run by Alyssa Thomas. The play is essentially an inverted pick-and-fade, where Thomas handles the ball above the 3-point line. A guard, usually the point guard, sets a screen, then slips and fades in front of Thomas, drifting out to the 3-point line as Thomas drives hard to the rim.

Courtney Williams played a key role in neutralizing this in the second half, recording three steals in the third quarter alone. She pressured Thomas on every screen, positioning herself between Thomas and the guard, fading out to the 3-point line, and disrupting the ball. The result was Thomas scoring only two points on two attempts in the third quarter, while also committing two turnovers under the relentless pressure. But that kind of execution wasn’t to be seen tonight.

Coach Reeve was quick to acknowledge the mistakes, saying, “The lack of execution led us to the uncertainty. All of a sudden they’re looking around, they had a bunch of oh s— looks, and so execution, simple things—pass and catch. Just be able to dribble the ball and get it to us; we were throwing it out of bounds.”

It remains to be seen how the Lynx will respond in the next game, especially with the challenge of playing in the Phoenix Arena. It wasn’t the birthday Napheesa Collier would have hoped for, but the series is still firmly in the balance, and anything can happen from here. Who do you think will take the series? Let us know in the comments below.