Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier backed up her stunning Game 1 performance with an even better outing in Game 2 on Wednesday night to lead her team to a 101-88 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. Collier poured in a career-high 42 points to tie the WNBA's single-game playoff scoring record and power the Lynx into the semifinals.
Collier's 80 points in the series are the most ever by a player in any two-game stretch in the playoffs, and she's the first to reach the 40-point mark in the postseason since Breanna Stewart in 2022.
40-point games in WNBA playoff history
| Player | Season | Points |
|---|---|---|
Napheesa Collier | 2024 | 42 |
Breanna Stewart | 2022 | 42 |
Angel McCoughtry | 2010 | 42 |
Tamika Whitmore | 2006 | 41 |
Maya Moore | 2015 | 40 |
Elena Delle Donne | 2015 | 40 |
After pouring in a then-career-high 38 points in Game 1, Collier picked up right where she left off on Wednesday. She cut to the basket for a layup to open the scoring for the Lynx, then added an and-one a few possessions later. By the end of the first quarter, she was already in double figures. At halftime, she was up to 23 points.
The Lynx were ahead by just two at that point, and the Mercury even took the lead shortly after the break. That would be a short-lived advantage. With Collier leading the way, the Lynx dominated the remainder of the third quarter to build a double-digit lead heading into the fourth. The rest of the game was essentially garbage time.
All told, Collier finished with 42 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks on 14 of 20 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free throw line. Her 70% shooting clip is the highest field goal percentage by any player with a 40-point game in playoff history.
Collier just finished the best season of her career, in which she averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. She finished as runner-up to A'ja Wilson for MVP, is a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, and is expected to make All-WNBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team.
In case there was any doubt, she's proven in these first two playoff games that her play in the regular season was no fluke. She is one of the league's very best, and with her playing at this level the Lynx are a legtimate title contender. In order to get to the Finals for the first time since 2017, they'll have to get through the battle-tested Connecticut Sun, who eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Game 1 of that series is set for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.