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.
'That s*** wasn't a foul' – Lynx coach Reeve fumes after Liberty clinch WNBA title
Cheryl Reeve lashed out at the officiating after her Minnesota Lynx team lost 67-62 to the New York Liberty in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
The Liberty clinched their first championship with an overtime victory on Sunday.
Yet Reeve, who has won four titles with the Lynx, was left seething after a disputed foul handed New York's Breanna Stewart the chance to restore parity with 5.2 seconds of the game remaining in regulation time.
She did not hold back during her postgame media duties.
"We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn't have to overcome to that extent," Reeve said.
"This s*** ain't that hard. Officiating is not that hard.
"Bring it on, because that s*** was stolen from us.
"This is for a championship, for both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams."
Reeve was not the only big name to criticise the officiating.
LeBron James posted on X: "I'm sorry but that wasn't a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battle-tested game."
Damian Lillard posted on X, too.
"Refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the second half boy. Great game," he wrote.
While Reeve and the Lynx will have to accept defeat, the Liberty celebrated a famous moment in their history.
"This is something special right here and I'm trying not to cry," said Stewart, who finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
"We had some ups and downs. This series was tough but we fought through because we wanted to bring it home to this city and this crowd."
Jonquel Jones top-scored with 17 points and was named the WNBA Finals MVP.
"I could never dream of this," said Jones. "It's the biggest moment and you have to lock in if you want to be a champion. It was all about this and us winning together because we really love each other."
Lynx edge Liberty to force Game 5 of WNBA Finals
Bridget Carleton's two free throws with 2.0 seconds left forced a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals as the Minnesota Lynx came through with an 82-80 victory over the New York Liberty on Friday.
Carleton came down with the rebound of team-mate Courtney Williams' missed shot in the waning seconds and was fouled by New York's Sabrina Ionescu with the score tied at 80-80. The veteran forward calmly made both free throws before Ionescu misfired on a long 3-point try right before the final buzzer.
Kayla McBride had 19 points and Williams added 15 with seven assists as the second-seeded Lynx tied the best-of-five series at 2-2 and sent it back to New York for Sunday's deciding Game 5.
Minnesota also denied the top-seeded Liberty an elusive first WNBA championship by forcing New York's two biggest stars, Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, into off-shooting nights.
Stewart was just 5 of 21 from the floor while finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Ionescu was held to 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting. The All-Star duo went a combined 0 of 9 from 3-point range.
Jonquel Jones led New York, which is 0-5 all-time in WNBA FInals, with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
In a tightly contested game in which neither team led by more than six points, the Lynx took an 80-75 advantage on McBride's 3-pointer with 2:35 to play.
The Liberty fought back, however, as Ionescu converted a layup on the ensuing possession and Jones was later fouled after scoring off a feed from Stewart with 1:10 remaining. She completed the three-point play to knot the score at 80-80.
New York missed three shots on its next trip down the court, however, before giving the Lynx the ball back on a shot-clock violation with 18.3 seconds remaining.
Clippers star forward Leonard sidelined indefinitely
The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to begin the season without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup as the star forward continues to rehabilitate from inflammation in his right knee.
The oft-injured Leonard played in his most games last season since 2016-17 with the San Antonio Spurs as he took the court for 68 of the Clippers’ 82 games.
The six-time All-Star, though, sat out Los Angeles’ final eight regular-season contests due to inflammation in the knee and only played in Games 2 and 3 during the team’s first-round play-off loss in six games to the Dallas Mavericks.
Leonard has yet to take on-court contact during training camp and instead has been focusing on rehabbing the knee.
“He has not been a part of what we've been doing on a daily basis,” Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw told reporters on Wednesday.
“I know the company line has been that we're going to be patient with him. He's doing everything that he can to rehab it and strengthen that knee on his own with our medical staff, and we’re just dealing with the guys that we have.”
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year led Los Angeles last season with 23.7 points and 1.63 steals per game and was second on the team in rebounding (6.1), blocks (0.87) and 3-point shooting percentage (41.7) while ranking third in assists (3.6).
The Clippers went 51-31 last season and won the Pacific Division for the first time since 2013-14.
With Leonard out indefinitely and Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason, Los Angeles will turn to former NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star James Harden to lead the way offensively.
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