Sabally’s 23 points lead Mercury over Lynx 84-76 in Game 3 of WNBA semifinals

PHOENIX — Satou Sabally scored 23 points — including 15 in a stellar fourth quarter — and the Phoenix Mercury beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx 84-76 in Game 3 on Friday night to take control of their WNBA playoff semifinals series.

The Mercury have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and can reach the Finals on Sunday with a win in Game 4 in Phoenix.

Sabally hit a 3-pointer to give the Mercury a 78-76 lead with 3:05 remaining and added two free throws with 2:01 left to push the advantage to 80-76. Alyssa Thomas had a steal and layup with 21.8 seconds left that sealed the win.

A furious Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected following the layup after getting her second technical foul.

Napheesa Collier also got hurt on the play, rolling her ankle. She had to be helped to the locker room.

Thomas and Kahleah Copper both scored 21 points, highlighting a balanced Mercury offense. It was a tight game throughout with 15 lead changes.

Minnesota was led by Natisha Hiedeman’s 19 points off the bench. Collier added 17 points on 8 of 15 shooting while Courtney Williams added 14.

Minnesota trailed by four at halftime but rallied for a 67-63 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-8 Heideman gave the Lynx a big boost in the final five minutes of the third, scoring eight points.

The Mercury bounced back from an early deficit, shooting 54.3 % from the field in the first half to take a 48-44 halftime lead. Copper had 17 points before the break on 8 of 9 shooting while Thomas added 11 points and 5 rebounds. Minnesota was led by Collier’s 13 points.

The Mercury were riding high coming into Game 3 after a 20-point comeback win in Tuesday’s Game 2 that evened the series. It was tied for the third-largest comeback in WNBA playoff history.