How Lynx rallied to beat Liberty, win WNBA Finals Game 1

Are you not entertained?

A four-point play in the final 6 seconds of the fourth quarter. A missed free throw that could have won it in regulation. The first team in WNBA postseason history to win after trailing by 15-plus points with less than 5 minutes to play.

Overtime in the opening game of the WNBA Finals.

And now, the Minnesota Lynx have stolen Game 1 in Brooklyn, beating the top-seeded New York Liberty 95-93 in overtime Thursday.

The Lynx trailed by as many as 18 points in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. But the No. 2 seed rallied to take a one-point lead, 84-83, with 5.1 seconds left in regulation on Courtney Williams‘ four-point play.

But it wasn’t over yet. With 0.8 seconds to play, Breanna Stewart converted one of two free throws to knot the score and force overtime, just the sixth WNBA Finals game to need extra time.

Williams added five more points — she led the Lynx with 23 — to seal the win.

New York fell to 0-6 all-time in Game 1 of the Finals, but the Liberty looked in control after pouring on 32 points in the opening period.

ESPN looks at how Minnesota made an improbable rally to take a 1-0 lead in Sunday’s Game 2 (3 p.m. ET, ABC) in Brooklyn.

How did the Lynx pull off one of the greatest comebacks in WNBA playoff history?

Call it belief. Call it resilience. Call it mental toughness. Minnesota had it all to win a game that appeared lost numerous times.

The Lynx were down by as many as 18 and matched the largest comeback in WNBA Finals history, largely on the spark lit by Williams, who scored 12 of her 23 points in the final 2:33 of regulation and overtime. Her four-point play gave Minnesota its first lead with 5.1 seconds left in regulation. It was the first four-point play in the final 10 seconds that gave the team the lead with the free throw in WNBA history — regular season or playoffs.

Notably, that play came off an offensive rebound and pass to the perimeter by Alanna Smith. It was just one of five offensive rebounds for Minnesota — New York had 20 — but it was the biggest one of the game.

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What does the Lynx’s Game 1 win mean for the rest of the series?

Not only did the Lynx win in shocking fashion, they did it on the road. That gives Minnesota a huge advantage mentally — from the comeback — and historically. The winner of Game 1 of the Finals has won 20 of the 27 WNBA titles (the last to lose the series after winning Game 1 was the 2017 Los Angeles Sparks).

The Liberty have to find a way to recover from a loss they likely still can’t believe happened. New York can focus on the fact that Jonquel Jones scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds (this was just the Liberty’s fourth loss in 33 games in which Jones had a double-double) and that Leonie Fiebich made 5 of 9 3-pointers.

If those kinds of performances can be duplicated, and just one of Stewart (6-of-21 from field) or Sabrina Ionescu (8-of-26, though 3-for-9 beyond the arc) shoots better, the Liberty can recover.

It’s a long series. As we saw Thursday, things can change in an instant. But if the Lynx go on to win their fifth championship, this game will be remembered in Minnesota and the league, and perhaps haunt New York, for a long time.

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What adjustments need to be made by both teams?

Minnesota won despite being dominated on the glass 44-32. New York took 19 more shots thanks to 20 offensive rebounds. The result would have been different if New York had shot better than 37.8% from the field.

Credit Minnesota’s defense for much of that. Stewart and Ionescu combined to shoot 14-for-47. Stewart’s missed free throw at the end of regulation and missed layup at the buzzer in overtime were nearly as big as Williams’ heroics. Napheesa Collier had 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting, but she also showed why she won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year with her work on Stewart, who was just 1-of-9 when Collier was the primary defender. Collier also blocked six shots, the third most in Finals history, including one each on Jones and Stewart late in the fourth quarter.

But Minnesota used plenty of secondary help to contain Stewart. New York coach Sandy Brondello will have to counter in Game 2 to get her star more open looks.

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How does New York shake off this loss?

These will be a long 2½ days for New York until Game 2 tips off. Following the disappointment of losing to the Las Vegas Aces in last year’s WNBA Finals, this will test the mental toughness of the Liberty players.

What might help is if all of their film sessions in the next 48 hours focuses on the first quarter. The Liberty dominated the first 10 minutes and led by 13. Their 32 points were the most they scored in any quarter this season. The offense looked smooth and efficient. Jones was dominant early and Ionescu hit two 3-pointers late.

The offense had good moments the rest of the game, but got ragged in the fourth quarter and overtime. It’s always surprising to see comebacks like Thursday’s. Seeing a veteran team like the Liberty lose a game like this is even more shocking.