Moore’s Buzzer-Beater Puts Lynx Up 2-1 in WNBA Finals

“It was an unbelievable basketball game”, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s just my personality”. Fever standout Tamika Catchings broke a WNBA postseason record Friday by participating in her 65th career playoff game…. The team that has won Game 3 has won 70 percent of the titles since the WNBA went to a best-of-five format in 2005.

Just as she did to beat the Indiana Fever, though, the 2014 MVP came through with the answer.

Maya Moore made a three-pointer from beyond the top of the key at the buzzer to give the Minnesota Lynx an 80-77 victory over the Indiana Fever in Game 3 of the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Tuesday night in Minneapolis. You just go out and work and play your butts off. We’ve put ourselves in a position in all three games to win. In fact, Moore and Montgomery say they weren’t allowed to even play on the same team during practices and workouts because they were so fiercely competitive.

Saturday, after G Briann January hit a 15-foot jumper with 2:08 left to give Indiana a three-point lead, the Fever did not score again.

But so do Chicago and New York, both of which almost eliminated the Fever in the Eastern Conference playoffs. “Great individual effort on her part”. Indiana has faced four elimination games this postseason.

Yet when the time came for that type of scenario on Friday, Moore was the obvious choice for the shot.

Bankers Life Fieldhouse is packed to the brim with fans – including a strong contingent of Lynx fans behind the Minnesota bench.

Neither team led by more than five points in the fourth quarter Friday. In a situation like that, if you’re the Lynx, you only want the ball in the hands of one woman, that being Maya Moore. “She was poised, took one dribble and banked the shot”. Everything fell on the line, did what I could. I did what I could. “Fortunately I ve a pretty easy publish it also toiled out”.

OK, enough with the modesty.

As for Moore, she’s taking it all in stride.

In 6-2 Rebekkah Brunson, the Lynx have someone to defend the 6-1 Catchings out on the floor and near the basket. For instance, Moore will go for near-impossible defensive plays that don’t pan out. “Whoever it is that gets the chance to make the last play”. She finished with 10 points on the night. This left the rest of the team to carry one another against the Fever. With 12 points in the final period – making 5 of 7 shots – she equaled her output from the previous three quarters. “I can’t speak for Steph”, said Reeve.

Change: Fowles used her height and teammates’ strengths. [She] and Cruz just play really well together. Sometimes, it goes really, really well. “You can see the passion and see we’re playing for each other”. And tonight was probably a little bit of both. She had to go back to her AAU days when she hit a victor for her Georgia team to win a championship.

“It’s a long series, no one’s won anything yet, ” Moore shared. “But I recognize we’re witnessing greatness”.