In a game for the ages, the Minnesota Lynx stunned the New York Liberty with an overtime victory in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

NEW YORK (AP) Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve has seen a lot in her incredible profession, including 4 WNBA championships.

The Lynx’s historic rally to defeat New York 95-93 in a wild first game of the WNBA Finals ranks amongst the biggest moments.

“We are the first team in WNBA playoff history to lose 15 minutes (in the last five minutes) and then come back and win the game,” Reeve said. (*1*)

Minnesota rallied from a first-half deficit, trailing by 18 points to Napheesa Collier’s feedback jumper with 8.8 seconds left in overtime, he led the team to a victory over the New York Liberty on Thursday night.

After the tie, Collier faked it on the line and scored. New York had a probability to tie the game, but Breanna Stewart’s shot at the buzzer was denied.

“The basketball gods were on our side today,” said Courtney Williams, who had 23 points, including a four-point play with 5.5 seconds left in regulation, to take the lead for Minnesota.

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Collier finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and three steals.

The second game of the best-of-seven series will happen on Sunday in New York. Before the game, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the league Finale extension to the best of seven starting next 12 months.

Overtime began slowly, with Minnesota constructing an 88-84 advantage when New York missed its first six shots. Jonquel Jones finally got Liberty on the board with a three-pointer from the corner with 1:38 left. Williams responded with a three-pointer of her own, and the teams traded baskets for the next minute. Sabrina Ionescu’s steal in the backcourt and layup put New York up 93-91 with 32.9 left.

Jones then stole the ball at midcourt and scored 4 seconds later to tie the game. Minnesota ran out the clock before Collier’s basket broke the tie.

Liberty blew an 11-point lead in the final 3:23 of regulation when Minnesota scored 12 straight points and Williams scored 4 points.

Liberty made the most of the final few seconds of regulation time. After Stewart’s initial shot was blocked with his second left and went out of bounds, Ionescu deflected the ball to her under the basket, resulting in a foul. Officials checked the play to see if a foul had occurred before the buzzer sounded and ruled it had, awarding Stewart two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.

She hit the first of two free throws, and the second one went off the rim. Williams’ shot at the other end was off course and the game went to overtime.

“You know, we just take it on the chin. We were losing a lot after which we had a crazy sequence that ended in the fourth edition,” Stewart said. “I didn’t start great after overtime. I had a great take a look at the end and didn’t make it. But I feel it’s a series. Of course, we actually desired to win at home. But the beauty is that we’ve one other game on Sunday and we might be ready.

Jones led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ionescu finished with nineteenth and Stewart with 18th.

New York faced Minnesota, which was playing just two days after defeating Connecticut in the semifinals. The Liberty built an 18-point lead in the first half before the Lynx rallied again.

The 18-point victory equaled the New York Liberty team record set in 1999 in the second game of the finals, which ended with a historic half-court shot by Teresa Weatherspoon.

Both teams intend to make history in this series. The Liberty are searching for their first franchise championship while the Lynx are searching for fifth place in the league. They were the best teams in the regular season, taking the top two places in the rankings.

New York is in the finals for the second 12 months in a row and hopes to erase the scar of its loss to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. Minnesota appears in the championship round for the first time since 2017, when the team won its fourth title in a seven-year period.

Liberty lost two of three regular-season games to Minnesota and the Commissioner’s Cup, but each teams said those games didn’t really matter heading into the championship.

The Lynx was in a position to keep Jones in check in all three wins, with Liberty’s star center scoring in single digits every time. On Thursday, at the end of the first quarter, it reached double digits.

Minnesota held New York to 38% shooting and improved to 181-11 since 2011, when the team held opponents to below 40%.

The star-studded New York crowd of 17,732 was loud and spirited, because it has been all season. Spike Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Meek Mill and New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos were in attendance. Lee was in an Ionescu shirt.