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Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected with under 22 seconds remaining in Game 3 against the Phoenix Mercury after a no-call when Lynx star Napheesa Collier hit the floor hard and headed to the locker room with an apparent leg injury.

With 28 seconds to go, Collier inbounded the ball to Natisha Hiedeman, who threw it back to Collier at the top of the key. But Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas stole the ball, knocking Collier over in the process. Thomas then ran to the opposite side of the court and made the last field goal of the night uncontested. When Collier didn't get up, Reeve went on the court and had to be held back by Hiedeman and members of the Minnesota staff. 

Collier first headed to the bench and was seen crying before she was helped to the locker room. She finished the night with 17 points, but none in the fourth quarter. There is still no official update on her exact injury or her availability for the rest of the playoffs.

It was a physical game just like the rest of the series and tensions were high. Reeve got a technical in the second quarter for arguing with officials after she felt Collier had been fouled multiple times in a possession. 

After the game, Reeve was still upset and called for a change in WNBA leadership for allowing what she considered a dangerous level of physicality in the playoffs. She also pointed out that Collier got called for fouls but did not go to the free throw line at all on Friday.

"One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero. And she had five fouls. Zero free throws. Got her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out and probably has a fracture," Reeve said. "And so if this is what our league wants, okay, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It's bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoffs worthy is f—g malpractice.

"I can take an L with the best of them. I don't think we should have to play through more than what they did.... They're f—g awful."

Friday night ended in an 84-76 win for the Mercury, who now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series. They found momentum in the second quarter with Kahleah Copper scoring their last nine points before the break. She finished the first half with 17 points, which she attributed to watching film from Game 2 and realizing she needed to be more aggressive.

Copper got a technical foul during the third quarter, but she said Thomas talked to her and the rest of the team in the huddle about the importance of staying composed and locked in. She followed that advice and finished the night with 21 points, as did Thomas. Meanwhile, Satou Sabally led the winning offense with 23 points. 

"We know it's going to be a tough series," Thomas told reporters after the game. "That's what playoff basketball is all about. I think for us in the moment, we always talk about never getting too high, never getting too low. You know, it's a game of runs. They go on one, we go on one. It's just about doing the little things. So we just try to stay composed in those moments. And we're built for this."

Despite the Mercury heating up before halftime, the Lynx made things more difficult for them in the third quarter by tightening up their interior defense and winning those 10 minutes 23-15. Hiedeman did not have a single field goal attempt during Game 2, but she was one of the top contributors for Minnesota on Friday with 19 points off the bench. Unfortunately for the Lynx, Hiedeman was held scoreless in the last quarter while Minnesota got outscored 21-9.

"That's really due to our good defense," Sabally said in press when asked about the Lynx's low-scoring fourth quarter. "We closed them out. We knew what they were running, so we're really well prepared and just trust each other. (DeWanna Bonner) had some great rebounds, (Copper) came in flying, it was just really amazing to see how we all work together."

The Mercury will once again host Game 4 on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.