Inside Lynx's epic comeback and an instant WNBA Finals Game 1 classic

NEW YORK – It wasn't just that the No. 1 seed New York Liberty lost the opening game of the WNBA Finals at home in heartbreaking fashion. It felt like they lost it multiple times.

Thank the never-give-up Minnesota Lynx. But despite the stunned aftermath of Thursday's 95-93 overtime loss at Barclays Center, the Liberty were still trying to figure out how it all happened.

With the lead up to 18 in the game and a lead of 15 with 5 minutes and 20 seconds left in regulation, the Liberty appeared to be in control. Then the comeback began for the Lynx and misfortune began for the Liberty.

New York was outscored 18-3 in the final 5 minutes of the game. The Liberty gave up the lead with 5.1 seconds left on a four-point play by Lynx guard Courtney Williams after Minnesota scored an offensive rebound after their miss.

Double gut punch.

“I definitely shouldn't have fouled her,” New York's Sabrina Ionescu said as she fended off Williams on a whizzing 3-pointer. “But it’s like if we get (that) rebound, we win the game. There are so many of these moments.”

Williams gave the Lynx an 84-83 lead, but the rollercoaster ride was far from over.

With 3.9 seconds left, Minnesota's Napheesa Collier knocked the ball away from New York's Breanna Stewart, but neither referee had a clear view of the play. So a jump ball was called. Neither team had a timeout to call for a challenge, crew chief Isaac Barnett told a media pool reporter after Thursday's game.

Williams was then called for a jump ball violation and possession went to the Liberty. Collier, the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year this season, then blocked Stewart's shot out of bounds.

On the next play, Collier was called for a foul on Stewart, giving the Liberty a chance to likely win the game at the line with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The Lynx's spirited rally looked like it would narrowly fail.

The play was reviewed, giving Stewart — a career 83.6% free-throw shooter — more time to think.

“You just focus on…getting the first one. To make the first one. To make it first,” said Stewart, who did just that to even the score. “And then the second one, same thing. It’s when you don’t want to think about anything else.”

“It’s definitely a shame to miss out.”

But she did and then grimaced in frustration. Still, the Liberty had overtime to redeem themselves. And once again, Stewart — a two-time MVP who won two WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm before moving to the Liberty last year — had a chance to win the game.

In the final 33 seconds of overtime, the Liberty got two steals and scored – one from Ionescu and one from Jonquel Jones – to tie the score. The sellout crowd, having gone through so many emotions at this point, spiraled out of control.

But Collier, the MVP runner-up known for her cool, stoic demeanor on the court, had another dagger to throw at the Liberty. Her 12-foot jump with 8.1 seconds left put Minnesota back on top.

“These people that I’m with,” Williams said in her first season with Minnesota after signing as a free agent, “we believe in each other so much.”

But the Liberty would experience one last painful moment. Stewart got the ball, shot in from the left side and tossed the ball up with her right hand for a shot she's probably made thousands of times. But she missed this one.

“I probably had one of my cleanest looks. Didn’t make it,” Stewart said. “I want to take these shots.”

Afterwards, the Liberty players talked about how they still had something to learn, even though Thursday marked their 48th game of the season, including the Commissioner's Cup final in June, which they also lost to Minnesota. The Liberty consoled each other in the locker room, saying it was disappointing but only one game in a best-of-five series.

But it felt like more.

“You have to be mentally strong and resilient,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “And we were that team.”