Don’t panic – Liberty look to rebound from Game 1 stunner

NEW YORK — Dropping Game 1 at home was not what the New York Liberty had in mind entering the WNBA Finals.

Neither was squandering a 15-point advantage with 5:20 to play, the first time in 184 instances across WNBA postseason play that a team won after trailing by at least that many points in the final five minutes of regulation.

But on Saturday at practice in Brooklyn, the top-seeded Liberty indicated that while they’ve learned from their Game 1 mistakes, they are moving past the shock and pain of kicking off the series in such a heartbreaking fashion.

“Don’t panic, that’s the big thing,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said. “It’s a series. We are disappointed because we didn’t close it out, but credit to Minnesota. They didn’t miss a shot down the stretch. We got too passive, and there are things we can learn from and be better for the next one.”

“It’s the Finals,” added Jonquel Jones. “We’re not about to quit after one game, especially a game that we were more than capable of winning. A game that we really played well for the most part. We’re good. We’ll be back.”

After a hot start, New York led by as many as 18 in the second quarter but allowed No. 2 seed Minnesota to chip away, with the Lynx pulling within two during the third quarter. The Liberty made a run in the fourth to seemingly keep Minnesota at bay, jumping ahead 81-66 with 5:20 to go — at which point they had a 99.2% win probability, according to ESPN Research. But Minnesota closed regulation on an 18-3 run and ultimately prevailed 95-93 in overtime.

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It was tied for the largest blown lead in WNBA Finals history.

“Everyone’s disappointed, but you got to keep the job at hand,” Brondello said. “We can’t think about that, how that felt. We can’t change it. So what are we going to do about it?”

New York had issues on both ends of the floor even outside of the final five minutes. Brondello thought the Liberty didn’t play with enough pace and were too passive on offense, and otherwise were lackluster in their transition defense and in making the Lynx feel uncomfortable running their offense. Those are things the team feels like it can control, according to two-time MVP Breanna Stewart.

“That’s the thing. It’s like, we know we can do so much better,” she said.

While the Lynx have beaten the Liberty four of the five times they’ve faced off this year, precedent is on New York’s side, at least heading into Game 2: The Liberty haven’t lost consecutive games since late May. Most recently, they rebounded from a Game 3 semifinal defeat to Las Vegas in which they trailed by as many as 25 by closing out the series two days later.

“We usually respond pretty well,” Brondello said. “We can’t go in and feeling anxious or pushing it. We’ve got to play the right way. We always say, stay true to who we are. We can’t go and reinvent the wheel.”

Teams that won Game 1 on the road of the Finals have gone 10-3 in the series. Three teams — the 2006 Detroit Shock and the 2015 and 2017 Minnesota Lynx — won the Finals after losing Game 1 at home. How massive is Game 2? All 20 teams to go down 0-2 in the best-of-five format have ultimately lost the series.

“I think that we’re just really hungry and eager for our bounce-back,” Stewart said. “One thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot is there’s beauty in the struggle, and that’s really where we’re at right now.”

Stewart in particular feels that hunger to amend things. She missed a critical free throw with 0.8 seconds left in regulation that would have given the Liberty a one-point lead. Then at the end of overtime, she misfired on a layup that would have tied the game.

“Because I am who I am, that’s why I’m in the positions that I am,” Stewart said. “And one game isn’t going to reflect what I do. That being said, obviously I’m like, WTF.

“I think what is really driving and motivating me is that we have an opportunity to change it. I have an opportunity to change it.”

Over the past two days, Brondello has tried to remind the Liberty who they are, and the players have been “facing everything head on and taking accountability for all actions,” Stewart added.

“And that’s why we’re pros. S— happens, and now what are we going to do.”

Still, there’s a fine line between being motivated by the past and letting it weigh you down, Brondello noted — and the latter won’t do New York any good, she said.

“Can’t change the past,” Brondello said. “That will hold us back if we don’t let it go.”

Game 2 will take place Sunday at 3 p.m. ET and air on ABC before the series moves to Minneapolis for Game 3 and, if needed, Game 4.