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Kahleah Copper scores heroic, last-second 3, Mercury pull off resilient 81-80 win over Lynx

© Nicole Mullen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

PHOENIX – With the game on the line, Kahleah Copper came up clutch by scoring a game-winning 3-pointer with just under a second left in the game, finishing her 34-point performance and helping the Phoenix Mercury clinch a nail-biting, 81-80 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.

In her first game of the 2024 season after suffering a toe fracture to her left foot, Brittney Griner had 11 points, four rebounds and one assist for the Mercury (5-6). With the win, Phoenix improved to 2-1 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Kayla McBride put up a valiant effort with 25 points, and Napheesa Collier got her seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota is 7-3 on the year. Despite losing in the waning moments of the game, the Lynx were electric from three, 15-for-34 (44.1%).

Mercury Up Early, Lynx Pounce Late

Having a pep to their step, the Mercury started on time with a 21-15 lead and got nine points courtesy of Copper in the first quarter. With a layup, Griner scored her first basket of the night at 6:05 of the first.

Not happy about some of the calls toward their way, the Lynx used their early frustration and translated it into the second quarter by taking the momentum right from Phoenix’s grasp, tying the game 23-23. Collier netted a quick five points to spark an 11-2 run.

Losing their control, the Mercury fought right back by dominating in the paint on both ends of the floor. In the first half, Phoenix outrebounded Minnesota 23-13 and outscored the Lynx in the paint, 22-6.

While they did have a small 38-35 advantage going into the locker room for halftime, the Mercury fell into ball possession troubles as they accumulated 11 turnovers during the first two quarters. They eventually cleaned it up in the second half by finishing with 14 overall.

Trying to break away from the other, both teams stayed competitive throughout as physicality took over. Multiple players on the two sides had to take a few seconds to recollect themselves after separate collisions on offense.

The temperature heated up as the Mercury and its fans voiced their displeasure with the controversial calls the officials were making. Minnesota had 20 fouls while Phoenix ended with 13.

Turning a deficit into a late lead of 79-75, McBride had herself a clinical shooting night for the Lynx as she was 8-for-13 (61.5%) from 3. In the fourth quarter, the Mercury buckled up defensively on her, holding her to just three points in the last 10-minute frame.

“We are giving up the most threes in the league, we want to defend the rim first but we have to do a better job, she is an elite shooter,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said about McBride. “She is averaging like eight attempts a game. Us to let her shoot 13, that’s not good enough. We have to do a better job of taking those threes away. She got hot, thankfully we did a better job in the fourth.”

With time going down to the wire, Alanna Smith made a layup to grab a 79-75 lead with 25.1 seconds left, silencing the Mercury faithful.

Game on the Line, Copper Connects on Crucial Shot

But after inching closer and closer to the final buzzer, Tibbetts called a timeout to rally the troops and get the team in the best position to score, knowing they were down 80-79.

Out of the break, Sophie Cunningham would inbound from the sidelines and find Griner posting up on Collier.

Trying to find a shooter open, Griner handed it off to Copper who – from behind the arc – caused the Mercury fans to go berzerk with the eventual game-winning 3-pointer, taking an 81-80 lead with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock.

When reflecting on what was going on inside of her head in the dying moments of the game, Copper was determined to shoot no matter what.

“It was a moment,” Copper said. “When you get in a zone, I think I was there for like a minute. I was super locked in, so I was just ready to make a big play.”

While all of the emotions were let out once the ball went through the net, Tibbetts revealed that during the timeout, he had wanted someone else to take the most important shot of the night before he was talked out of it.

“I’m gonna have tough decisions down the stretch of who to go to, we’ve got a lot of great players,” Tibbetts said. “All of them would probably like to shoot that ball. I actually drew up the play for DT [Diana Taurasi] and after I drew it out, DT was like ‘No, no, let’s run it for Kah.’ She felt like Kah had it going and just stepped up once again, that was a big-time shot.”

In the last 1:10 of the fourth quarter, Copper went off with eight points.

With a win keeping their Commissioner’s Cup run still alive, Tibbetts said a victory of this magnitude was significant due to how Minnesota dominated 95-71 last week these two teams last faced each other.

“When it comes to the Commissioner’s Cup, it was a must-win,” Tibbetts said. “If you lose this game, more than likely your chances [to advance] drop drastically. From a week ago, it was tough to watch our clips against this team [Minnesota]. We showed our team clips this morning and before the game of what we looked like. We were looking like we were playing in mud, we were moving slow. A great bounce-back win for us, we needed this win.”

Griner, Allen Made Instant Impact in Return

After sitting on the bench instead of going to battle with her team, Griner made her presence felt on both ends of the court due to her 6-foot-9 stature and high basketball IQ.

Her work in the post, being a defensive force every time Minnesota tried to attack in the paint, her one assist coming on the game-winner, etc. There seemed to be new dimensions unlocked for Phoenix who added their nine-time NBA All-Star back into the fold.

“It feels great,” Griner said about coming back. “I mean, sitting back and watching my team hold it down and play and compete, I was just jumping to get back out there. It feels good to be back with my team and be able to contribute.”

Not only did Griner return, but the Mercury also welcomed back Rebecca Allen into the starting lineup, recuperating following being in concussion protocol. Allen ended with nine points, four rebounds and two steals, providing all of the aspects of her “do-it-all” playstyle offensively and defensively.

Getting two important players of Griner and Allen’s caliber created a turning point for Phoenix, raising excitement surrounding the team going forward.

“I think the best basketball is ahead of us,” Tibbetts said. “What Bec Allen and BG give us defensively is length and size. Bec in the first quarter had four to six deflections and with BG at the rim, they [Lynx] finished with 18 points in the paint. I don’t know how many they had last game against us, felt like 50 without BG. Just having her down there, she had a tough matchup in her first game back, [Alanna] Smith can shoot it… I leaned over to KT [Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver] like, ‘We got our size back,’ which is awesome.”

Next Games

Mercury: Away at Dallas Wings (3-5) | June 9 | 4 p.m. PT

Lynx: Home vs. Seattle Storm (6-3) | June 9 | 4 p.m. PT

Mercury’s Natasha Cloud shows off special pair of shoes, passionately commemorating Gun Violence Awareness Day

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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini

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