Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas blew a kiss to the PHX Arena crowd with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in Sunday night’s semifinals game against the Minnesota Lynx.

She had banked in a trademark floater, stretching the Mercury’s lead to four. Perhaps, looking back at the gesture, it came a bit early, as the Lynx never wavered. But in the end, Thomas had reason to celebrate. Fueled by her play and that of forward Satou Sabally, the Mercury are heading to the 2025 WNBA Finals.

Phoenix prevailed 86-81 in a topsy-turvy Game 4. The Lynx’s quest to return to a second consecutive finals ended one round short of last season. Minnesota played Sunday’s game without star forward Napheesa Collier and coach Cheryl Reeve, who had been suspended for her on-court behavior and comments railing on WNBA officiating after Game 3.

Even still, Phoenix had to grind out a victory.

“It was ugly at times for us, but we kept fighting,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “That’s what we do. We’re a gritty group.”

The Mercury trailed by 11 points after the first quarter, but tied the game 38-38 at halftime. They were down by 13 points after three quarters, but again rallied, holding Minnesota to just two points through the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.

At times, Tibbetts said, Phoenix took its foot off the gas. The second-year coach isn’t sure why. But in key moments, the Mercury defense stiffened. Stops turned into freer offense possessions.

“It was an ugly game for us,” Thomas said. “Just proud of how we responded. We could have easily given up. We could have been heading to Minnesota right now, but we stuck together, we dug deep on defense.”

Phoenix outscored Minnesota 31-13 in the final quarter. Lynx associate head coach Eric Thibault, who slid into the lead chair with Reeve out, said Phoenix’s aggressive, switching defense was effective. Too often down the stretch, the Lynx faced a late shot clock.

Minnesota guard Kayla McBride finished with a game-high and career playoff-high 31 points. Only McBride and guard Courtney Williams scored more than two points in the final frame.

“You just want it for the people around you,” McBride said. “You want it for the people who grind with you every single day, good days, bad days, bus rides, locker room. That’s why I’m emotional.”

Despite her success throughout the game, McBride’s final shot rimmed out, an almost fitting end to the top-seeded Lynx’s season. Minnesota became the first team in WNBA history to lose two playoff games when leading by at least 14 points as Phoenix returned to its first WNBA Finals since 2021.

Thomas and veteran forward DeWanna Bonner flourished in crucial situations. Bonner scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three critical 3-pointers having not hit any in any of the series’ three prior games.

“My teammates just kept telling me (to) shoot it, forget the other games,” Bonner said. “Just happy those balls went in.”

Both had played for the Connecticut Sun last season and came up short in the 2022 WNBA Finals when Connecitcut lost in four games to the Las Vegas Aces. They will get another chance to win a title as teammates once again, alongside an otherwise new collection of teammates. Phoenix returned only two players from last year’s team.

Thomas finished with 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Sabally scored 21 points, setting the tone for Phoenix as she scored 14 points in the game’s first 14 minutes.The Mercury will play the winner of Tuesday’s Game 5 between the Aces and Indiana Fever.

They will relish Sunday’s win, and their earned multi-day break. The 2025 WNBA Finals begin on Friday.

“We need some days off. We wanted days off. We’ve just been going,” Tibbetts said. “But the carrot was to win today and get some rest. I’m really happy for the group that we’re gonna get some time off.”

(Photo: Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images)