MINNEAPOLIS – Bridget Carleton made two free throws with two seconds left and the Minnesota Lynx forced a deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, defeating the New York Liberty 82-80 on Friday night.

The teams meet Sunday night in New York in the first Game 5 of the Finals since 2019, when Washington defeated Connecticut. It will be the eighth Game 5 in WNBA Finals history.

Kayla McBride scored 19 points and Courtney Williams added 15 for Minnesota, forcing Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu to have poor shooting nights. Ionescu's shot at the buzzer missed the rim.

Unlike the first three games of the series, when one of the teams jumped out to a double-digit lead, this game was close throughout. There were 27 ties and lead changes (14 lead changes, 13 ties), the fourth most in a WNBA Finals game ever. Neither team led by more than six.

With the game tied at 80-0 with 18 seconds left, Williams dribbled to run out the clock and missed a jumper with a few seconds left. Carleton got the rebound in the lane and was fouled by Ionescu.

She made both free throws quietly and Ionescu couldn't repeat her heroics in Game 3, when she made a 28-footer with one second left to give the Liberty a 2-1 lead.

Jonquel Jones had 21 points and Leonie Fiebich scored 19 for New York. Stewart had 11 points on 5 of 20 shooting, and Ionescu was 5 of 16 from the floor and scored 10 points.

The home team is 5-2 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. The only away teams to win are the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016 and Phoenix Mercury in 2007.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.