Liberty Humiliated: Mercury Crushes Champion in Historic WNBA Blowout

Liberty on the Brink of Elimination After Loss to Mercury

The defending WNBA champion, New York Liberty, is one loss away from elimination in the playoffs after suffering a resounding defeat to the Phoenix Mercury with a score of 86-60 at the Barclays Center on Wednesday night.

This was the worst home defeat in playoff history for the Liberty and the second-largest playoff defeat for a defending champion in WNBA history. Many fans who were hoping to see the Liberty advance to the semifinals left the stadium with 4:54 remaining in the final quarter.

The decisive Game 3 will be played in Phoenix on Friday.

“They came and embarrassed us on our court,” Breanna Stewart said. “Now we have to go back there for Game 3. Winner takes all. If we’re not ready for that, then we shouldn’t be here.”

Breanna Stewart

Stewart, who suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain in the final minutes of the Game 1 overtime victory, started the game but wore a knee brace on his left knee. He played 20 minutes, but only scored six points and two rebounds, ending his streak of 44 consecutive playoff games with at least 10 points. He averaged 18.3 points and 6.6 rebounds this season. Stewart scored two points in the first half, tying the fewest he has had in any half during his playoff career. Stewart said she was happy with the way her knee responded to Wednesday night’s test, but she wasn’t happy with her performance.

“I just wasn’t where I wanted to be today,” she said. “And I have 48 hours to figure it out.”

Breanna Stewart

Phoenix’s defense suffocated New York, holding them 24 points below their season average of 84.4 points per game. The Mercury had 10 steals, and New York finished with 15 turnovers. The Liberty hit 10 of 20 field goals in the first quarter, but only 9 of 43 in the last three.

“Defense has been our calling card all year,” said Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts. “The hope is that when you get to the playoffs, you raise your level. I think we have done that.”

Nate Tibbetts

The score was tied at 25 after the first quarter, but the Liberty’s collapse was swift and decisive after that. The list of things that went wrong for New York, which won the franchise’s first WNBA title a year ago, was long and varied:

Breanna Stewart wore a knee brace on her left knee, which she twisted in Game 1. While the Liberty star said she was happy with how the knee responded on Wednesday night, the Mercury held her to just six points. Sabrina Ionescu, who made 93% from the free throw line during the regular season, missed her first four free throws. She finished 2-of-6 from the line and 3-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-8 on 3-point attempts. The Liberty were outscored 26-12 in the second quarter and 18-10 in the third. They made a total of five field goals in the two frames. The Liberty’s first points of the second half didn’t come until 5:09 of the third quarter, and they didn’t score their first field goal of the second half until the 1:35 mark. The Liberty’s five starters combined for 10 of 38 (26.3%) from the field, with no starter scoring in double figures. Stewart’s (6), Ionescu’s (9), and Jonquel Jones’ (7) combined 22 points marked their fewest in 109 games as teammates, according to ESPN Research.

“We all have to raise our game, our defense, our offense,” Jones said. “We’re such a powerful team offensively, and tonight they were really able to clog us up and muck things up.”

Jonquel Jones

Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas led Phoenix with 15 points each. Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner scored 14 each. Sabally had four steals. It was a significant bounce-back game for Sabally, who went 2-of-17 in Game 1.

“There was a lot of talk about her last game, but if you haven’t had a game like that, then you haven’t been playing at the highest level,” Thomas said. “We have the utmost confidence in her and we knew she was going to go out and do her thing tonight.”

Alyssa Thomas

The Mercury, who were outscored 11-4 in overtime of Game 1, took the momentum into Game 3, the winner takes it all.

“We can’t go out and play the same way we did and expect a different result,” Ionescu said. “I think we have to go out and make the adjustments and play like our season is on the line, because it is. And theirs too.”

Sabrina Ionescu