WNBA Finals: Liberty buckle down and persevere down the stretch to claim Game 2

NEW YORK — Two minutes is a long time in basketball. A six-point lead is little but a minimal buffer that can evaporate in two possessions.

In this WNBA Finals battle between New York and Minnesota, two minutes is an eternity. And a six-point lead is merely a suggestion of a victor.

The Liberty held such an advantage in the final minutes of Game 2 after another big first quarter gave way to Minnesota cutting the double-digit deficit to a basket with about five minutes left. New York had already started to pull away in stark contrast to its Game 1 meltdown.

But everyone learned a lesson Thursday night and knew no lead was safe. How the Liberty handled those final minutes could mean a new series or the road to another empty season sans a WNBA championship.

When Lynx bucket-getter Courtney Williams attempted to cut the deficit and spark another comeback, Sabrina Ionescu cut off her driving lane and forced her to retreat. Breanna Stewart and her 6-foot-1 wingspan jumped out to help, forcing Williams into her fifth turnover. The ball rolled past half-court as Leonie Fiebich gave chase.

Fiebich collected the ball near the 3-point line, dribbled once, eyed the shot and drained the back-breaking basket Sunday to even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece in an 80-66 Liberty victory. They were her only points of the day and gave New York a nine-point lead with 90 seconds until the buzzer.

“Huge. Gutsy. I love it,” Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot said.

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello thought she’d feed Stewart, who trailed the play and was wide open when Lynx guard Kayla McBride dropped down into coverage on Ionescu near the basket.

“But a 3-point shot is a layup for [Fiebich], so we want [and] encourage her to shoot all those 3s,” Brondello said. “I know she missed one before it, but I love the confidence that she brings.”

The Liberty collectively lacked no confidence in front of an arena-record 18,046 fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday. They had already put the emotions of Game 1 behind them and focused only on film study in preparation for Game 2. It wasn’t about what happened, per se, but rather what needed to change: where they could be better, how they could find the holes in the Lynx defense and how they could quiet MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier.

“The moment the game ended Thursday night, I was looking forward to Sunday,” Stewart said.

It was uncanny how similar each game played out. Ionescu lit it up from range and scored 12 points to fuel another 30-plus point first quarter for the Liberty. They led by 10 at the first break and by 17 within the second, nearly matching the 18-point lead they held in Game 1.

“I’m disappointed that we let it get to 17,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I’m more disappointed in that. I’m more than disappointed, I’m pissed that it happened again.”

The Lynx matched the Liberty in the second quarter and even won the third, 14-12, despite a lackluster offensive showing. Jonquel Jones closed in on a double-double, but All-Defensive selection Alanna Smith kept her from dominating. They stymied Ionescu’s scoring ability, but she also stayed patient and stuck to her goal of reading and taking what the defense gave her instead of chucking up shot attempts.

“It was understanding being able to drive passing lanes and find the open man if they’re going to bring a few on the ball,” Ionescu said. “And so I just did that.”

Still, Collier brought the Lynx within two twice in the fourth quarter while playing with four fouls. The first turnaround jumper off Williams’ assist capped a 7-0 Lynx run in the frame’s first minutes and her layup at 5:36 surely gave everyone watching pause that another stunner was in the works.

“That’s kind of where the momentum shifted and we crumbled in Game 1, and it didn’t happen this game,” Vandersloot said. “They were able to go on a run, we made big plays down the stretch. Big shots, big stops and that was growth.”

New York flipped the script, reeling off a 14-2 run in the final five minutes after allowing an 18-2 run to Minnesota in the opener as the Lynx took control.

“What we continued to keep saying to one another was like stay together, keep playing,” Stewart said. “Every rebound matters. And even if our offense gets a little bit stagnant and funky, we are not going to let that dictate what we do defensively.”

Stewart and the Liberty’s defense locked in, allowing only a layup from Natisha Hiedeman in the final 45 seconds. Stewart secured another steal after Fiebich’s 3, running her total to a Finals single-game record seven of the team’s 13. It tied her career high.

“Not letting history repeat itself,” Stewart said of her mindset down the stretch.

The Liberty collapsed around Collier to force travels and hustled for every rebound and loose ball. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton came up in the clutch despite a knee injury. Minnesota turned the ball over 20 times, one of its worst performances of the season, and New York scored 26 points off them.

That was a difference-maker as both teams shot around 45% overall, though the Lynx made six 3s to the Liberty’s 11. The Lynx’s 66 points were close to a season low, and Collier led with 16 points, 10 fewer than her playoff average. She had a team-high seven turnovers. Williams had 15 points (7-for-14) with eight assists and six rebounds.

Brondello was most impressed with the talk in the huddle. It was not only her or the coaching staff doing it all. The players were talking about rebounding and the possession game, she said. They talked about keeping pace after Stewart said they slowed to an almost awkward one in the late stages of Game 1.

“When we play like that, with the pace that we went out and just the effort and the energy we put into the defensive side with the scramble and the help, good things happen,” Brondello said. “It was just more about staying persistent.”

The Liberty kept true to what led them into this Finals. And it’s why Fiebich stepped back for what otherwise might be an ill-advised shot when trying to kill clock.

“We’ve been in this position before,” Vandersloot said. “We felt confident, we kind of learned our lesson and we were going to do things differently.”

The Liberty have held the lead for all but 3 minutes, 17 seconds of the first two games. None of those was in Game 2 because this time around, they played to win each second.