Napheesa Collier scores 38 as Lynx hold off Taurasi, Mercury

MINNEAPOLIS — Diana Taurasi’s potential retirement has been a theme throughout the 2024 WNBA season.

And with her  Phoenix Mercury suffering a 102-95 loss in Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday at Target Center, the possibility could become the headline entering Game 2 on Wednesday.

If anyone understands Taurasi’s impact, it’s Napheesa Collier, who — like Taurasi — won a national title during a stellar career at  UConn. The respect between the two is clear, but this is basketball, and Collier sees Taurasi and the Mercury only as an obstacle standing in her team’s path to a championship.

“It seems like it’s her retirement tour,” Collier said. “I don’t know. She’s been pretty quiet about it. She’s, obviously, a UConn great, a league GOAT, so I feel lucky to have been able to play with her on Team USA and against her. Hopefully, we can end her career on Wednesday.”

Perhaps this is the end for Taurasi, but it feels like it’s only the beginning for Collier, who put together a spectacular stat line that included a career-high 38 points in a tenacious victory over the Mercury, whom the Lynx have defeated in five of their past six meetings in the playoffs.

On the same day Collier finished second to  A’ja Wilson in the WNBA’s MVP race — barring a lone third-place vote, Collier would have finished second unanimously — she made the case that the Las Vegas Aces star might be the only player on the planet who can stop her from doing whatever she wants on the floor.

There were pump fakes and smooth layups. There were clutch 3-pointers and finishes around the rim. She made key defensive stops, too. The Mercury seemed to draw straws at times to see who would get the assignment to guard her. But nothing really worked.

With the basketball in her hands, Collier was a destructive force on Sunday. According to the Lynx, she’s the first player in WNBA history to finish with 38 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a block in a playoff game.

“The great thing about [Collier] is that it’s just so much more than scoring,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s why it’s so special. That’s why she’s the first in league history to do so many things because she’s a box-score stuffer. It’s well beyond scoring.”

Taurasi (21 points, 5-for-10 from 3) and Natasha Cloud (33 points) tried to steal Game 1 after the Mercury entered halftime facing a 14-point deficit.

With 2:06 to play in the game, Cloud’s layup gave the Mercury a 92-91 lead before they were outscored 11-3 the rest of the way. As Cloud entered the locker room after the game, she yelled, “One more … one more … one more” to signal both the desperation and opportunity ahead in Game 2.

Taurasi’s future is on their minds.

Perhaps on her own, too. Taurasi was announced as a participant in the postgame news conference before she was replaced at the last second, meaning she might not talk until Wednesday, if at all. The possible consequences of that game are clear, though.

“It’s not really anything we’ve talked about as a group,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Obviously, we know there is a chance this may be it. I think everyone wants to go on a run, not only for ourselves, but mostly for her. I mean, it’s going to be her decision after the season. I think she’s made that pretty clear. But we love having her around. And you can see it tonight, she can still play.”

But Collier and her teammates have their own ambitions.

On the court, Collier is not an animated player. And she does not have a gigantic social media following compared to some of the other WNBA stars. She’s often stoic after games, too. That demeanor probably impacts the way she’s viewed, mostly as quiet and unassuming. But Collier, all season, has also earned another descriptor: WNBA superstar.

“I think it just comes from playing as hard as you can every game, winning games, and I always come back to my teammates,” she said Sunday. “They always put me in great positions. You don’t get the accolades and all those things without winning games and you do that as a team. So yeah, it feels good to get [No. 2 in the MVP race]. Really, kudos to [Wilson]. She had an amazing year. I think she deserves to get MVP. Obviously, I’m going to come for her next year and do my best again. But it was really fun.”

On Wednesday, Taurasi might play the last game in one of the greatest runs in basketball history. But the former MVP and three-time WNBA champion competed Sunday as if she had no interest in finishing her career in Minneapolis.

In Game 2, however, Collier & Co. might not give her the choice.

“We’re going for the [championship] and that’s what our goals are set on,” Collier said.