Jonquel Jones will forever be the MVP of the New York Liberty’s first Finals victory. Sabrina Ionescu the forever-improving homegrown megastar, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton the glue, Courtney Vandersloot a free agent catalyst. On and on.
But it’s Breanna Stewart. All of this — the record-setting crowds, the sea foam jerseys that now freckle New York City streets and living rooms — revolves around Breanna Stewart. You feel it at practice, hearing word of her calling a players-only meeting the day before the playoffs, when you watch one of the most decorated players in basketball history dive across the floor in a meaningless June game.
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Of course Stewie, who suffered an MCL sprain at the end of New York’s Game 1 victory over the Phoenix Mercury, was going to play in Game 2.
“As long as I don’t wake up from my nap feeling like s***,” she joked at shootaround. When asked if there would be a minutes restriction, she responded not with a full sentence but unfiltered disdain. Turns out, she didn’t need a minutes restriction. The Phoenix Mercury enforced one all by themselves.
It was 25-25 after the first quarter. New York’s offense was operating smoothly, with Ionescu the right buttons at the controls and her teammates spacing perfectly…
There were early signs of distress, though. Ionescu got fouled on a 3-pointer only to miss all three free-throws, nauseating a packed Barclays Center. All told, the Liberty missed five free-throws in the first quarter; when Phoenix went on a run to start the second quarter, it felt like those misses would loom large.
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But the Mercury never slowed down, their lead growing to double-digits, then 20, then 30. By the end of the night, smooth R&B instrumentals blared throughout a half-empty arena, competing only with the shoe squeaks of bench players in the soundscape.
Nate Tibbetts’ team hunted Ionescu relentlessly in the second quarter, running inverted pick-and-roll not with Alyssa Thomas, but with Satou Sabally. Phoenix’s leading scorer averaging 16.3 points in the regular season, but shot a dismal 2-of-17 in the series opener. Many of those looks were ill-advised, but Sabally would undoubtedly shoot better in Game 2. She did, and it started with Phoenix shepherding Sabally downhill…
Said Tibbetts: “We wanted to look at it early in the second, kinda got Satou going a little bit, which was great. I thought she had some really good looks tonight, just like the other night, and a couple went in and out. Yeah. that’s been a really good look for us all year, and it’s something that we’ll stay with.”
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Phoenix’s reserves also came off the bench and made shots, namely Kathryn Westbeld and DeWanna Bonner, who combined for 24 efficient points. Even Sami Whitcomb, who struggled from the floor, recorded three steals and four assists. On the other side, Emma Meesseman and Kennedy Burke were slightly better than they were in Game 1, though it would’ve been hard to be worse.
New York cannot blame Breanna Stewart’s balky knee for a loss of this magnitude. Phoenix thoroughly outplayed the home team. But you never know what the game would’ve looked like, would’ve felt like if eh could have imposed her will. Stewie didn’t limp up and down the floor the whole night, but she inserted herself into every tenth possession. During Phoenix’s game-deciding second-quarter run, she could only screen for Natasha Cloud on one end and watch as Sabally scored over her on the other.
“I was happy with the way that I was able to kind of really just move, you know,” said Stewie. “And really, I just need to be a little bit more confident in all of my things. But I wasn’t, I wasn’t like in pain or anything like that.”
Maybe not physical pain. But she must have been in pain as the third quarter started, when the Liberty fought to cut the deficit to single digits. One 3-pointer rimmed in and out, then another. Then Stewie watched from the bench as Emma Meesseman missed an open layup.
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Meesseman called the team’s performance “inexcusable” postgame, and that’s true, but it also just wasn’t New York’s night. Kinda sums up their season, doesn’t it?
“We’ll make shots,” said Meesseman. “I have confidence in that. Like, I think that was kind of almost the worst game we’ve had, but we’ll make shots.”
The New York Liberty were already hanging by a thread before the playoffs. Without a margin for error, their heart and soul, their leader is now playing on one leg, maybe one-and-a-half. That’s no excuse for getting out hustled, for posting 30/23/64 shooting splits, for not only turning it over 15 times but playing some of the worst transition defense that’s ever been seen in an honest-to-god playoff game.
Stewie provided Liberty fans with a thread of hope postgame: “I think that it probably became more of like a mental barrier than a physical one. I mean, obviously, you know, everyone knows what I’m dealing with, but the good about today was I was able to test it. I was able to see how I felt and and really — I look forward to Friday, really letting loose.”
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Perhaps Stewie will be able to let loose and lead her teammates, who might make some shots, to a heroic victory. But as Liberty fans drudged through the exits on Wednesday night, it felt like they had already been forced to say goodbye to their team until next May. Possibly longer, considering the possibility of a WNBA lockout in 2026. And what of the fans unable to afford tickets beyond this season?
The New York Liberty are defending champions, and they will fight. Nate Tibbetts, though careful not to disrespect his opponent, insisted that the Liberty would play better in the decisive Game 3. They probably will.
But for now, the five hour flight to Phoenix just feels like a long journey to their own funeral.
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Final Score: Phoenix Mercury 86, New York Liberty 60
Next Up
Game 3. Winner moves onto round two, loser goes home. Tip-off will be Friday night in Phoenix, though the time is currently unscheduled.
