The Mercury Are One Win Away From the Finals

After back-to-back wins, the Mercury could punch their ticket to the WNBA Finals on Sunday night.

Sep 26, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally (0) shields the ball from Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) during game three of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury followed up their historic 20-point comeback in Game 2 with a hard-fought home victory in Game 3. The game was closely contested from beginning to end and the 83-76 win in the desert has the Mercury just one win away from reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2001.

The Mercury now lead the series 2-1 and, with the second round being played in a best-of-five format, Phoenix now has two shots to get the last win they need to earn a chance at competing for the franchise's first title since 2014.

Big Win

You can never relax against a team as talented and well-coached as the Lynx, though, and the Mercury will be hoping to wrap the series up in Phoenix on Sunday night to avoid a must-win Game 5 in Minneapolis.

Phoenix's defense has been a thorn in the Lynx's side all series long, even in their Game 1 loss. Minnesota had the best offense in the league this year but the Mercury have held them below their season scoring average in all three games. The Lynx were also the league's best three-point shooting team all year, knocking down 37.8% of their shots from deep, but Phoenix has held them to 31%, 25%, and 25% again from beyond the arc. Their ball pressure has been relentless and Minnesota's shooters have had very little space to shoot.

Sep 23, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) falls to the ground as Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb (33) and forward Alyssa Thomas (25) attempt to get the ball during game two of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

They've done a great job of keeping Napheesa Collier, the MVP runner-up, from having a truly dominant performance -- thanks in large part to defensive work by Alyssa Thomas -- and they've found ways to keep Minnesota from controlling the game.

Phoenix's ability to force turnovers has been a huge factor, but so has their hustle on the offensive glass, which has not only generated extra opportunities for themselves (they iced Game 3 by collecting their own misses multiple times down the stretch) but has also pinned Minnesota in their own half, preventing them from running in transition.

Game 4

Offensively, Phoenix hasn't gotten hot from three either, but they haven't had to. All three of the team's big three scored 20 or more points in Game 3 (they combined for 65) but only nine of those points came from threes, although all three of the made long shots were loud.

If Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper can keep knocking down big shots while Alyssa Thomas continues to have this level of success driving the lane, the Mercury can score enough to overcome a normally stingy Minnesota defense, as well as their own occasional turnover issues.

Phoenix is proving that they have both the high-end talent and the depth to compete with the league's elite. First, they knocked off the defending champs. Now, they're a game away from beating last year's other finalists too.

Go to our Facebook and X pages for all things Phoenix Mercury.

feed