The Liberty had been virtually getting ready to elimination.
Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas appeared to have a go-ahead layup with a second remaining in regulation to defeat the defending champions.
However she smoked it and gave the Liberty life.
The miss — and Sabrina Ionescu‘s end-of-regulation prayer — led to an additional time interval the Liberty gained, which led to a 76-69 first-round Recreation 1 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Now it’s the Mercury getting ready to elimination because the best-of-three sequence shifts to New York for Wednesday’s Recreation 2.
The end result comes after Leonie Fiebich put her crew up six following a made trey with underneath a minute remaining in OT. Natasha Cloud‘s drive — and close to turnover — received Fiebich open on the win for the trey on the 57.3 mark of the additional interval.
At that time, the sport was out of attain.
Cloud scored a game-high 23 factors within the Recreation 1 victory. Kahleah Copper led the best way for Phoenix with 15 factors.
However the Liberty have extra points on the horizon as Breanna Stewart left the additional time interval as a result of an obvious left knee harm. She completed the sport on the bench with a brace on the knee. The obvious harm is to the opposite knee she missed time for within the common season as a result of a bone bruise.
The sport ended up in OT after numerous lead adjustments. The see-saw battle finally received the Liberty down two with 1:45 remaining in regulation after a pleasant sequence by the Mercury: after taking part in protection for nearly 24 seconds, Akoa Makani superior ball then handed to Thomas. Thomas superior into the paint, then misdirected site visitors and located a reducing Copper for the go-ahead layup.
However then Stewart tied it, 65-65, once more with a contested jumper on the 1:31 mark.
Nobody scored for the remainder of that fourth quarter and Thomas’ straightforward layup would’ve possible iced the sport.
She missed the chance. And Phoenix missed the chance in OT to seal a house win after shedding the additional interval, 11-4.
Thomas — the Mercury’s do-it-all MVP candidate — received near her season averages: 14 factors, 9 rebounds and assists. However she missed 11 of her 18 makes an attempt and labored every possession whereas guarded by New York Jonquel Jones.
She confronted a defensive recreation plan tailor-made for her from the beginning. The non-shooter confronted no resistance from the three-point arc, however Jones — and generally a Liberty wall — by no means left her as she received closed to the paint.
The primary quarter ended with the Liberty up 4. Each groups featured balanced scoring underneath the arc, however a mixed 3-of-17 from three-point vary. Cloud and Jones scored the Liberty’s pair of treys within the first and each completed with 5 factors apiece within the interval.
The Liberty’s lead finally received shortened to 1 at halftime as each groups continued a see-saw battle.
Main the cost within the second was Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 9 factors whereas working as the point of interest of the Liberty’s offense.
The Liberty are finest after they can flip protection into lightning fast offense. However pace and tempo are turned down in playoff basketball because the emphasis turns into half-court offense.
Fortunately for Sandy Brondello’s squad, that’s the place Ionescu can run her pick-and-roll offense with star forwards scattered all around the flooring.
Benefitting from that gravity, Cloud registered 13 factors (5-for-5 from the sphere) going into halftime, and Stewart poured in 11 of her personal.
Ionescu’s motion additionally received Phoenix Kahleah Copper into foul bother, as the previous Finals MVP received referred to as for her third private foul halfway by means of the second. However they stayed afloat and Akoa Makani’s trey earlier than the halftime buzzer stored her crew inside one possession.
The Liberty ought to’ve ran away within the third quarter as Phoenix faltered.
Copper picked up her fourth foul and received despatched to the bench once more. The protection on Thomas stored the Mercury’s offense quiet — so quiet that Phoenix didn’t rating a area objective till the two:44 mark of the interval. The Liberty, nevertheless, solely made two extra area objectives than their opponents throughout that stretch, failing to make the most of an ideal alternative.
Then the Mercury scored eight unanswered to take a one-point lead with underneath a minute remaining. And after Jones’ bucket, Mercury ahead Kathryn Westbeld drained a 28-footer to cap an 11-2 run that gave Phoenix the lead, 57-55.
However the run meant nothing, because the Mercury fell on the finish.
Liberty crawl away with Recreation 1. And one other win places them into the second spherical.
Initially Printed: September 14, 2025 at 7:44 PM EDT
