The New York Liberty captured their first WNBA championship in franchise history by outlasting the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of Sunday's decisive Game 5 of the league FInals.
After Breanna Stewart made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left in regulation to force extra time, the Liberty held the Lynx without a field goal during the additional five-minute period to claim the title that had eluded one of the WNBA's charter teams for the first 27 seasons of its existence.
New York had reached the Finals five times previously and was ousted in four games by the Las Vegas Aces in last year's championship round.
The Liberty, who finished the regular season with a league-best 32-8 record, did manage to prevail in this winner-take-all showdown despite the shooting struggles of its top two stars, Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu missed 18 of 19 field goal attempts while limited to five points, while Stewart went 4 of 15 on a night New York misfired on 21 of its 23 shots from 3-point range.
Stewart did pull down 15 rebounds while finishing with 13 points, however, and the Liberty got a big lift from Jonquel Jones as the All-Star center posted 17 points and six rebounds while being named WNBA Finals MVP.
Second-seeded Minnesota, seeking to become the first team to win five WNBA titles, got 22 points from Napheesa Collier and 21 from Kayla McBride. The Lynx failed to hold onto a 12-point second-quarter lead, however, and went 0 of 6 from the field in overtime to come up just short in their bid for a first championship since 2017.
Minnesota owned a 60-58 lead entering the final minute of regulation after Collier capped a 6-0 run with consecutive baskets. The Lynx came up empty on their next two possessions, though, before Stewart was fouled by Alanna Smith and knocked down both free throws to tie the contest.
After McBride missed a would-be game-winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer, the Liberty scored the first five points of overtime and never trailed thereafter.
Leonie Fiebich began extra time with a 3-pointer to put New York ahead, and Nyara Sabally later stole McBride's errant pass before converting a layup that extended the lead to 65-60 with 3:14 to go.
Dallas Mavericks star Doncic out at least one week
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić will be sidelined at least one week due to a strained right wrist, ESPN reported Thursday.
Doncic said after Dallas' 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday that he hurt his wrist in the first quarter, though he remained in the game and told reporters afterward he believed the injury to be "nothing serious."
The 2023-24 NBA MVP finalist had his wrist checked out Wednesday, according to ESPN, which revealed the strain.
Doncic is set to miss the entirety of Dallas' three-game road trip that begins with Friday's clash with the Denver Nuggets, as well as the Mavericks' next home game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Doncic has missed just one of Dallas' first 15 games of this season, though his numbers are slightly down compared to his consecutive First Team All-NBA campaigns of 2022-23 and 2023-24. The five-time All-Star has shot 43.5 per cent from the field and 32.4 per cent from 3-point range while averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.
The 25-year-old averaged 33.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists over the course of the previous two seasons while shooting 49.1 per cent from the field and 36.5 per cent from beyond the arc.
Doncic's injury comes after the Mavericks were starting to gain traction following a sluggish start to this season. Tuesday's win was Dallas' third straight after it lost four consecutive games to fall to 5-7 over its first 12 contests.
The Mavericks are coming off a highly successful 2023-24 season in which they reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Dallas then made one of the offseason's more notable moves by acquiring four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors.
George hyperextends knee in latest injury blow for Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers could be without Paul George for several weeks after he suffered a hyperextended left knee during their defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The Sixers' miserable start to the season continued as they suffered their 12th defeat in 14 games – and their fifth in a row – at FedExForum, going down 117-111.
Philadelphia fielded star trio George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey together for the first time after the latter recovered from a hamstring injury, but George was forced to exit early in the second half.
George previously missed five games of preseason after hyperextending the same knee, and head coach Nick Nurse believes he could face a similar spell on the sidelines.
"I think they said it was similar to last time, which was a bone bruise, I think," Nurse said.
"He was actually fairly close to coming back in the game, but then it kind of stiffened up as he got out a little bit more, so I decided not to, and now we got to take a look at it, make sure."
However, Nurse was more upbeat when asked if the team could rule out structural damage to George's knee, saying: "I think so."
George only managed two points, four rebounds and two assists in his 17 minutes on court, going 1-of-6 shooting.
Despite Philadelphia continuing to be hamstrung by fitness concerns, Nurse admitted they had not done enough to warrant a better result.
"Listen, it's certainly not easy," Nurse said. "Tyrese was just getting back and didn't really have a feel tonight, and Paul going out...
"It's certainly not easy but we didn't put enough together again for 48."
The Sixers have seven games in the next 14 days, starting with Friday's home encounter with the Brooklyn Nets and ending against the Orlando Magic on December 6.
NBA: Brunson, Towns combine for 70 to keep Knicks hot
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 34 and the New York Knicks rolled over the Phoenix Suns 138-122 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.
All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. Josh Hart had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Devin Booker scored 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-depleted Suns, who have lost five straight.
New York never trailed, hitting its first eight shots, including four 3-pointers. The Knicks carried that momentum to a 44-28 advantage after one quarter and a 76-58 lead at halftime. Brunson had 23 points before the break on 8-for-9 shooting, including hitting all four 3s.
The Suns cut the deficit to 88-77 midway through the third quarter, but the Knicks responded with an 11-2 run.
Phoenix star Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left calf strain. Teammate and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal was out for the fifth straight game, also because of a strained left calf.
The Knicks shot 18 for 23 (78.3%) in the first quarter, including 8 for 11 (72.7%) from 3-point range.
Sengun stars as Rockets win again
Alperen Sengun had a season-high 31 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 130-113 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The Rockets used a big run in the third quarter to push the lead to 21 entering the fourth and cruised to their sixth victory in seven games.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points for the Rockets for his second 20-point game in the last four, and Fred VanVleet had 18 points and six assists.
Quenton Jackson had a career-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Pascal Siakam had 19 points at halftime but only scored two more points the rest of the way.
A dunk by Myles Turner got the Pacers within three with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before the Rockets used a 12-3 run, with 3s from VanVleet and Sengun, to make it 82-70 less than three minutes later.
The Pacers made just 5 of 22 3-pointers, while Houston made 12 of 36 attempts.
Antetokounmpo powers resurgent Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 122-106.
Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Damian Lillard had 20 points and 10 assists, and AJ Green added 18 points to help the Bucks win for the fourth time in five games following a 2-8 start.
Zach Lavine scored 27 points and Torrey Craig added 15 for Chicago, which dropped to 3-8 this month.
The Bucks led by 18 and seemed to be in control after a 16-0 run from the end of the first quarter and into the second, but the Bulls chipped away and pulled within one in the third. The score remained close until midway through the fourth when the Bucks once again pulled away with Antetokounmpo dominating inside.
After being held to 13 points in the first half, Antetokounmpo scored 25 of Milwaukee’s 29 points in the third quarter. Lopez scored 20 or more points for the third time in four games.
Green swished a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, from the corner with 6:49 left in the game to push the Bucks' lead to seven. Lillard and Lopez followed with 3s of their own to extend the lead to 13.
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