18 seconds.
Crazy 18 seconds.
Those 18 seconds could decide the fate of the Liberty's WNBA title aspirations.
The Liberty's spectacular collapse against the Lynx in Game 1 of the Finals at Barclays Center on Thursday night set off a frenzied, inexplicable and devastating end to regulation.
The drama of the eventual 95-93 loss wasn't completed until the final beat of overtime, but it had the most intense highs and lows, an overabundance of “What did we just see?” The final moments of the fourth quarter took a strange turn.
Liberty, which led by as many as 18 points and led by 15 with five minutes remaining, was forced into a shot clock violation with 18 seconds left and held a three-point advantage.
After a Lynx timeout, Liberty's defense missed Courtney Williams' potential game-tying 3-pointer, but allowed Alana Smith to grab an offensive rebound in traffic.
“We had a lot of chances to end the game,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.
Smith kicked the kick back to Williams. Williams was able to find her feet behind the arc and beat a retry despite being fouled by Sabrina Ionescu.
Williams calmly made the free throw, completing a four-point play with five seconds left.
Shades of reverse Larry Johnson.
backward facing L.
“Things like that can hurt your back,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. “And they did.”
Leading 84-83, Liberty began attempting a series of reckless inbound passes to create a chance for a game-winner.
He was fouled on the first one — the Lynx had one more foul.
On the second inbound, Lynx star Napheesa Collier deflected a pass intended for Liberty's Brianna Stewart, and the pass went wide.
Unable to determine who made the last touch, the referee raised his hand and called a jump ball.
However, the Lynx committed an infraction on a jump ball, giving Liberty another crack.
In this game, Collier cleanly blocked Stewart's shot attempt and sent the ball out of bounds under the basket with one second left.
Once again, with all my heart: Ionescu nailed the final inbound to Stewart, who cut in, but was fouled by Collier with 0.8 seconds left.
Stewart, who has been talking about making up for his below-average performance in last year's Finals, stepped up with a game in hand.
make.
The joy of Brooklyn.
Then a mistake.
Broken heart.
“I just focus on making the shot, making the first shot … and then doing the same thing for the second shot,” Stewart said. “That’s when you don’t want to think about anything else.
“It's definitely the worst thing to miss.”
Stewart also missed a potential game-clinching running layup at the end of overtime.
“I want to take these pictures,” Stewart said. “I'm very disappointed, but please do your best for the second match.”
