It’s only right that the WNBA Finals is going the limit.
Game 1 was decided, basically, on a four-point play and a missed 4-foot shot. Game 3 was decided on a 28-foot shot with one second left.
So when Bridget Carleton went to the line with two seconds left in a tie game and calmly hit both free throws?
Carleton’s free throws after being fouled on a put-back gave the Lynx an 82-80 victory before a sellout crowd at Target Center on Friday night in Game 4 of the best-of-five Finals.
Tied at two games each, the teams will meet in the series finale Sunday at 7 p.m. in Brooklyn at Barclays Center.
It was a battle, at times a brawl, with players getting knocked down all over the court Friday. There was determined defense, stubborn offense.
There were 13 ties and 14 lead changes. No team ever led by more than six points. All 10 starters scored in double figures, but a number of the biggest stars didn’t always shine.
But it had to end. And here’s how:
The Lynx were up six, but the Liberty battled back to tie the game at 80 on Jonquel Jones’ three-point play with 1:10 left. Kayla McBride, who led the Lynx with 19 points, missed at one end, but the Lynx got a stop with 18.3 seconds left.
Time for one more possession: Courtney Williams took the in-bounds, waited, then dribbled. Finally she penetrated and shot, but she missed. But Carleton got fouled by Sabrina Ionescu on the put-back attempt.
Swish, swish. Carleton screamed and ran to the Lynx bench during the ensuing timeout. Perhaps fittingly, Ionescu, who hit the game-winning 3 on Wednesday, missed a long 3 at the buzzer..
The stars? This time it was the supporting cast that came through. McBride and Carleton each scored five fourth-quarter points.
There were six lead changes and five ties in the first 10 minutes, the game was tied at 23 after a quarter. The Lynx shot 50%, the Liberty 45%.
Things were just as tight in the second quarter. At one point the Liberty pushed to a five-point lead, and the Lynx responded by going up four.
The Lynx trailed by five midway through the quarter, but finished the half on a 12-6 run. The Lynx pushed their lead to five early in the third, but the Liberty — with Jones bombing away from the outside — responded with an 11-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 61-55.
Again the Lynx responded. Smith scored, then got a steal. Collier made one of two free throws and the Lynx got a stop, then Smith hit a three with 2 1/2 minutes left and the game was tied, 61-61, for the ninth time. When Carleton ended the quarter with two free throws the Lynx had finished the third quarter on a 9-2 run and they led 64-63.