Cheryl Reeve promised her Lynx team would play better, and they did. She expected Napheesa Collier to lead the way, and she did.

It was a different Lynx team Sunday than the one that lost by 30 at Connecticut in the first game of the best-of-three series. In the rematch, their backs against the wall, the Lynx shook off a loud Connecticut crowd, played through injuries.

Won.

Sixth-seed Minnesota, playing behind the duo of Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride, beat the third-seeded Sun 82-75 Sunday in Uncasville, Conn., forcing a series-deciding game at Target Center on Wednesday.

Both Collier — who played through second-half back tightness — and McBride were wonderful.

Collier had 26 points, 13 rebounds. McBride set career playoff highs in points (28) and three-pointers (six).

After allowing Connecticut to score 30 points off turnovers in Game 1, the Lynx won that battle 20-6. They outscored the Sun in the paint (42-32) and on second-chance points (15-5).

With Collier on the bench having her sore back looked at, and with the Sun having drawn within three, McBride scored nine points in a 14-1 Lynx run that put them up 16 on McBride’s layup with 3:01 left.

Then it was the Sun’s turn. Connecticut ended the quarter on an 11-0 run. Thomas had four points and Rebecca Allen a three-point play in the run, which drew Connecticut to within five, 65-60, entering the fourth.

And it kept going, with the Sun getting as close as two early in the fourth quarter. The Sun was still within three in the closing minutes.

But the Lynx would not crumble. Collier, McBride and Rachel Banham scored in a 6-2 finish to the game.

DwWanna Bonner scored 24 points for the Sun, making six of 10 three-pointers. Alyssa Thomas had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Rebecca Allen scored 10.

Minnesota got six from Banham, five from Diamond Miller and Tiffanny Michell — who herself played through an injured left ankle — and a six-point, five-rebound, six-assist game from Dorka Juhász.

The Lynx showed defensive intensity from the beginning. Even though the Sun still shot better than 50%, the defensive pressure resulted in five Connecticut turnovers, and and it carried over to the Lynx offense.

Collier started strong, hitting five of eight shots and scoring 10 points in the first quarter, which ended with the Lynx leading 24-21.

After the first 10 minutes the Lynx had an 8-0 lead on points off turnovers, an 18-8 lead on points in the paint. All five Lynx starters scored in the quarter, during which Minnesota shot 55.0 percent.

That lead had grown to five by halftime after the Lynx got six points from McBride in an 11-5 run to end the second half to go up 44-39.

McBride had nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from three and Collier had six in the quarter, accounting for 15 of Minnesota’s 20 second-quarter points. The Lynx had a 13-0 edge on points off turnovers and a 26-14 edge on points in the paint at the half. McBride and Collier had as many points at the half (30) as they had in all of Game 1.

With less than 2 minutes gone in the third quarter Collier left the game with the back problem. In the wake of that news the Sun closed to within three points three points on Thomas’s two free throws with 6:06 left in the quarter.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.