PHOENIX — Their backs against the wall, the Minnesota Lynx showed the heart of a team wanting a championship.

But a team that led the standings from the outset and finished with a league-record 34 regular-season wins will not get a chance to compete for the WNBA’s ultimate prize.

The short-handed Lynx were again dominated on Sunday in the fourth quarter and fell 86-81 to Phoenix in Game 4 of a best-of-five semifinal series. The host Mercury won the final three games, the only time all season Minnesota lost three in a row.

Kayla McBride had a postseason career-high 31 points, including six 3-pointers, and Courtney Williams added 17.

Minnesota played without Napheesa Collier, who was on the bench in a walking boot after injuring her ankle in Game 3 in a late collision with Alyssa Thomas.

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