Lynx back in Commissioner's Cup final; Collier exits with injury - ESPN

The Minnesota Lynx will get the chance to defend their Commissioner's Cup championship after they advanced to the final with Tuesday night's 76-62 victory over the Las Vegas Aces.

But there is some concern about Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who left the game early with a back injury.

The Lynx will represent the West for the second year in a row in the WNBA's in-season competition between the two conferences after finishing 5-1 in Cup play. They will host the July 1 final against the Indiana Fever, who advanced earlier Tuesday after a contentious 88-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun. The Fever were 4-1 in Cup play, as were the New York Liberty, but the Fever won the tiebreaker with their head-to-head win over the Liberty on June 14.

Collier, who leads the WNBA in scoring and is the early MVP favorite, exited at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter and didn't return. Coach Cheryl Reeve said there was no update after the game.

The Lynx trailed 39-32 when Collier left, but they rallied without her, led by Courtney Williams' 20 points. Minnesota also got 12 points off the bench each from Natisha Hiedeman and Diamond Miller.

Williams said the Lynx knew they had to step up their performance without Collier.

«Once Phee went out, I was like, 'Everything that feels good has got to go up,'» Williams said of looking for her shot. «That ain't hard for me. We've gotta win. So whatever that looks like, that's what I am going to do. I don't think I take bad shots, so if I'm open, I'm going to shoot it.»

The Lynx won the Commissioner's Cup trophy last year over the New York Liberty, who hosted that game at UBS Arena because their normal home, Barclays Center, was hosting the NBA draft.

Minnesota will be the host this year because the Lynx