Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts confesses Sami Whitcomb ‘saved his a**’

The Phoenix Mercury kept their WNBA Finals hopes alive after pulling off a thrilling overtime victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals. The Mercury returned from the first half with a 16-point deficit but fought back to eventually force the game into overtime, where they went 10-4 to round off an 89-83 win.

The game went into overtime after a three-pointer by Sami Whitcomb with 3.4 seconds left on the clock. Head coach Nate Tibbetts claimed after the game that the 37-year-old “saved his a**” by adjusting to how Minnesota defended his team during that final play, per ESPN’s Michael Voepel.

Tibbetts had earlier expected the Lynx to foul out in order to avoid a potential game-tying shot from his team. However, that did not happen as Whitcomb initially missed her attempt, following which Alyssa Thomas grabbed the offensive rebound.

She moved the ball to Satou Sabally, who set up Whitcomb for another three-pointer. This time, the two-time WNBA champion did not miss, forcing the game into overtime where Thomas took over with seven points to tie the series at 1-1.

“I was joking, you know, 20,000 [practice shots] for one shot. I’d love to make all of my shots, but I feel like it shows up in moments like that, those big moments,” she said after the game.

The Mercury had initially fought back from a deficit that rose to as high as 20 points at one point. Tibbetts revealed that he was furious with his team at halftime, claiming that “you’ll have to ask the players” just how much heat he brought on them during the interval. Phoenix responded with a 22-14 third quarter before a 25-17 final period tied the scores.

Whitcomb, who did not start, contributed with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds off the bench while Sabally top-scored for Phoenix with 24 points, also adding nine rebounds. Thomas finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 assists and also had eight rebounds.

No. 1-seeded Minnesota struggled due to their depth as the likes of Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams all scored more than 20 points. However, the entire bench unit mustered just three points that came from Jessica Shepard.

The series now moves to the PHX Arena for the next two games before a potential Game 5 back at the Target Center in Minnesota.