Napheesa Collier simply took over Wednesday.

The Lynx forward scored a career-high 42 points and tied an WNBA-record for most points in a playoff game as Minnesota pulled away to beat Phoenix 101-88 and sweep the best-of-three first-round series.

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier celebrates her three-point basket against the Phoenix Mercury in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Combined with a 38-point scoring performance in Game 1, Collier is the first player in franchise history to have back-to-back games of at least 30 points in a single playoff. Her 80 points in the two games are the most points over any two-game stretch in WNBA Playoff history.

Second-seeded Minnesota will face No. 3 Connecticut in a best-of-five semifinal beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Target Center, where the Lynx are 18-4 this season.

The Sun won two of three meetings against the Lynx, although Minnesota won 78-76 last week in Connecticut.

“We want to win every single game at Target Center in front of you guys,” Lynx forward Bridget Carleton said during a postgame in-arena interview. “We’re a good basketball team and we’re here to win a championship.”

Collier, second in the league’s MVP voting, scored 23 points in the first half and then dominated at both ends of the court in the latter stages of the game.

She scored on a drive early in the fourth quarter for a 79-66 lead. Five straight points by Collier, the final two coming after she stole a pass on defense and scored off a feed from Natisha Hiedeman, pushed the lead to 91-73 midway through the fourth. A Collier trey with 4:08 to play gave her 41 points and a free throw gave her 42 less than a minute later.

Angel McCoughtry in 2010 and Breanna Stewart in 2022 also have the WNBA record of 42 points in a playoff game.

Minnesota shot 50.7%, had assists on 28 of 34 baskets and made 23 of 27 free throws.

The game’s momentum may have turned on a physical play early in the third quarter.

Making a steal and driving to the hoop on a fast break, Carleton landed nearly face first with a thud after she was basically tackled on a flagrant foul by Sophie Cunningham.

Courtney Williams and Collier quickly rushed to their fallen teammate, with Williams assessed a technical foul as players from both sides were jawing at one another.

Up by two after Carleton’s crash, the Lynx went on a 17-7 run, including 3-pointers from Alanna Smith and Kayla McBride, for a 72-60 lead late in the quarter.

McBride finished with 15 points, Carleton and Smith each had a dozen and Williams scored 11 and added six assists.

Diana Taurasi finished with 10 points for the Mercury in what could be the final game of an illustrious 20-year career. She left to a standing ovation with 2:34 to play after picking up her fifth foul.

Brittney Griner scored 24 points to lead five Phoenix players in double figures.

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The Twins climbed out of an early hole, broke out of a homerless drought that had lasted more than a week and finally, finally got that big hit when they needed it.

And yet, despite the 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night at Target Field, their odds of making the playoffs still decreased. With the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals winning earlier in the evening, the Twins needed a win just to keep pace in the wild-card race.

Though the Twins didn’t get any outside help from either of those team’s opponents, they did win a crucial game that kept their slim playoff hopes alive — they trail both by two games with four to play — by overcoming a poor start from Simeon Woods Richardson.

The Marlins were all over Woods Richardson, who found himself staring at a deficit just three batters into the game, as Jake Burger hit a three-run home run out to left.

Woods Richardson was not long for the game, facing 10 batters and letting seven batters reach base. He departed after giving up two hits in the second inning, making way for Louie Varland, who struck out the next three batters to keep the Marlins right where they were.

In what amounted to an unplanned bullpen game, Twins pitchers struck out 16 batters to halt the Marlins in their tracks and give the offense a chance to stay in it.

They got a little help from the Marlins’ infield defense, too.

While the Marlins’ three outfielders each made a fantastic grab, their infield defense allowed four errors, including one in the Twins’ two-run second inning. The Twins tied it in the fourth on Byron Buxton’s 450-foot home run, which was the Twins’ first blast since Sept. 17, a stretch of more than 60 innings.

Minnesota finally broke things open in the seventh, against using some help from the Marlins to do it. With Brooks Lee on second base, Christian Vázquez laid down a two-strike bunt, which pitcher Declan Cronin threw away.

Lee raced home to score, giving the Twins their first lead of the night. Carlos Correa, who earlier made a key baserunning blunder and was doubled off second base, atoned for his mistake by driving in another run with a double before Carlos Santana sent a bases-clearing double to right field to send the Twins on their way to a pivotal victory.

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Everybody from the Twin Cities to the Iron Range breathed a sigh of relief when the Vikings diagnosed quarterback Sam Darnold with a knee bruise.

There was another exhale when the Vikings released their injury report on Wednesday afternoon as Darnold was listed as a full participant in practice. Technically, the Vikings held a walkthrough instead of a practice, so it’s worth monitoring Darnold’s status moving forward.

Nonetheless, the fact that Darnold seems to have avoided anything serious is good news for the Vikings, especially considering how well he’s been playing throughout the 3-0 start.

The rest of the injury report for the Vikings was rather extensive, highlighted by center Garrett Bradbury (ankle), linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (ankle), and safety Jay Ward (knee) listed as nonparticipants.

A bright spot for the Vikings was receiver Jordan Addison (ankle) being listed as a limited participant, marking the first time he’s participated in any capacity since getting injured in the season opener. The other limited participants for the Vikings included tight end Josh Oliver (wrist), defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (knee), edge rusher Dallas Turner (knee), and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (knee).

Asked if he planned to have walkthroughs more regularly as a way to keep players fresh, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said the approach would likely vary on a weekly basis. He then turned the focus to the Vikings going up against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, adding “I do know we’re going to need to be as close to 100% to have a good chance.”

Greenard earns accolade

After posting a trio of sacks against his former team last weekend, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

“The first of his career,” O’Connell said. “It’s really cool to see him making such an impact here early on.”

The presence of Greenard played a big role in the Vikings earning a 34-7 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. He applied constant pressure while rushing the passer and finished with a career high 3.0 sacks.

This is the 12th time the Vikings have had a player earn an NFC Player of the Week honor with O’Connell at the helm.

Hockenson still progressing

It’s only a matter of time before star tight end T.J. Hockenson is back in the mix for the Vikings. He’s been spotted around TCO Performance Center at various points throughout the past month and seems to be doing very well as he works his way back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

When will he return to practice?

“I’ll continue to defer to the medical staff on that,” O’Connell said. “Hoping to get T.J. up and rolling as soon as possible.”

Though the Vikings have missed having Hockenson in the lineup, O’Connell praised him for staying engaged throughout the recovery process.

“He’s done everything we asked,” O’Connell said. “He’s itching to get out there.”

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