A best-of-five series has become a best-of-three. Courtney Williams overcame a slow start with a strong third quarter and hit a clutch late jumper, and the Minnesota Lynx evened their WNBA semifinal series with a 77-70 win over Connecticut in a physical Game 2 on Tuesday night at Target Center. Williams finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Alanna Smith finished with 15 points, including a trio of treys, and six rebounds. “We weren’t happy with how we approached the first game … but we knew we had to take it to another level,” said Smith, whose team fell 73-70 Sunday. “I felt really, really good about this team’s ability to bounce back,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “The great thing about this group is they just have to be themselves; they don’t have to be somebody that they’re not. And if we keep being ourselves, we can navigate anything. … There’s no one that’s carrying a heavy load all the time.” The next two games are in Connecticut: 6:30 p.m. Friday and a yet-to-be-announced time Sunday. A deciding Game 5, if needed, would be Tuesday night at Target Center. “We need to stay aggressive. It’s going to be a long series. We got to grind it out,” Napheesa Collier said in an in-arena interview. She finished just 3 of 14 from the field for nine points but grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked a game-best four shots. A battle of the WNBA’s two best defensive teams included plenty of players on both teams glaring at officials and questioning no-calls, and second-quarter pushing between Myisha Hines-Allen and Marina Mabrey. Kayla McBride earned a technical for shoving Mabrey after the latter appeared to foul the Lynx guard on a layup. McBride also had a hard foul on DiJonai Carrington on a fourth-quarter drive. “It’s playoffs, it’s always going to be physical,” said Sun forward DeWanna Bonner. Added Reeve: “We had an aggression about us that was necessary when you play these guys. You have to be physically and mentally tough, because they show up.” Williams, Minnesota’s point guard who was just 3 for 12 from the field in Game 1 and missed five of her first six first-half shots, made all three of her third-quarter attempts and added a couple of her four assists to provide some breathing room. She scored on a jumper, Smith sank a 3-pointer and McBride added a layup to start the second half for a 43-30 Lynx lead. Williams then scored nine straight Lynx points, including a pullup jumper and a 3-pointer as the Minnesota lead grew to 56-42. “I think I was just a lot more aggressive,” Williams said. “First half I was being a little passive, kind of looking more to facilitate and I had to turn it up. I realized we were struggling offensively, so I was getting to my spots and knocking ‘em down.” Four players other than Williams scored in an 8-2 fourth-quarter start that pushed the Lynx lead to 15 with 7:10 remaining. Connecticut got within seven with 2:47 to play, but Williams drained a jumper at the offensive end and defended a drive by Veronica Burton on a layup. Her driving layup with 1:01 left put the Lynx up by nine before grabbing a defensive rebound. Minnesota’s bench outplayed its Connecticut counterparts on both ends of the floor, including 16-4 in points. Hines-Allen scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds. Cecilia Zandalasini returned to the Lynx lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a strained right quad and finished with five points. Natisha Hiedeman added four points and added a couple of rebounds and assists. “The team that has a bench that shows up and contributes is going to have a big-time advantage. There’s so much pressure on the first five, scouting reports and etcetera, so we need help, and we were able to get that tonight,” Reeve said. Minnesota overcame an awful offensive start — missing 13 of its first 15 shots — to shoot 45.2% from the field, including 42.1% (8-19) from deep. The Lynx made 13 of 14 free throws. Connecticut shot 36.4% and missed 15 of its 20 3-point tries. “They were physical, wouldn’t let us get into our offense. They responded to every run that we had,” said Sun coach Stephanie White. Hines-Allen banked in a turnaround 14-footer at the buzzer, turned to the crowd and let out a roar for a 36-30 Minnesota lead at the break. Related Articles Minnesota Lynx | Napheesa Collier delivers brilliant performance as Lynx close out Mercury Minnesota Lynx | Lynx offensive success runs off Napheesa Collier and the power of spacing Minnesota Lynx | Lynx dominate early, rally to beat Phoenix in playoff opener Minnesota Lynx | Lynx credit chemistry with return to WNBA championship contention Minnesota Lynx | Lynx rest Collier, McBride in season finale and lost 68-51 to last-place Sparks