However ugly the box score looks from the New York Liberty’s 86-60 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 of their WNBA Playoffs series on Wednesday, it was even worse on the court.
After ending the first quarter tied at 25, New York scored 35 points the rest of the game in a barrage of missed shots and turnovers that was a caricature of the team’s biggest problems all year.
Similarly, the postgame press conference was an exaggerated version of what we’ve heard all season long. This time in front of an orange WNBA Playoffs backdrop, the Liberty insisted — correctly — that they’re a better team than they showed, need to learn from their loss and bounce back stronger.
“They came in and they embarrassed us on our home court,” Breanna Stewart said. “Now we have to go back there for Game 3. Winner take all. If we're not ready for that, then we shouldn't be here.”
Obviously, they can win that game. New York won in Phoenix just a few days ago. But pretty much everything from Wednesday night needs to change.
To start, Stewart was nowhere near full strength in Game 2 after her injury on Sunday. She needs two days of rest to hopefully come back stronger than the six-point, three-turnover performance she just turned in.
“Stewie's tough. She did what she could there, but hopefully, we know she's going to be a little bit better,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “The physicality, that was hard for her, she was trying to get in there, the screening…we know Stewie's a champion, she's going to respond the right way.”
Breanna Stewart’s supporting cast must step up for Liberty
New York’s Game 2 loss can’t fall entirely on Stewart. There’s way too much talent around her for only one player — Emma Meesseman — to score in double figures (11 points).
Sabrina Ionescu has been prone to poor shooting performances in the past, but Wednesday was something different. Not only did she shoot 3-13 from the field and 1-8 from three, but she missed her first four free throw attempts of the game despite shooting 93% from the stripe in the regular season.
Ionescu denied any injury or discomfort after the game, refusing to use it as an excuse, in typical Ionescu fashion.
“I’ll be better for Friday,” she said.
As for Jonquel Jones, her play is often a barometer for her team’s success. When she has a double-double in a Liberty uniform, New York has never lost. She got her 13 rebounds against Phoenix — to be fair, it's not too hard when the two teams combine to miss 81 field goal attempts — but scored seven points on 3-9 shooting.
“We have the opportunity to go play another game and win another game,” she said, before echoing Natahsa Cloud’s popular refrain from the regular season. “We know what it's gonna take, and there's definitely no panic.”
There’s no panic, but there is urgency after a historically bad Game 2. The Liberty made 10 field goals in the first quarter and then nine more for the rest of the game. They didn’t score more than 13 points in any individual quarter after the first. The Liberty’s staters were 10-38 from the field.
Some of that is just luck. No team, least of all the defending champions, is as bad as the Liberty played in those final three quarters. But through the flukes like missed free throws and layups, familiar problems still shined through.
For one, New York committed 15 turnovers and was beaten on the glass yet again. Those are two “controllables” that Brondello likes to harp on. If nothing else goes right, the least the Liberty can do is take care of the ball and do its best to win 50-50 opportunities.
The talent is there so that it should be enough to win most games. New York just hasn’t shown it consistently, and when poor habits meet bad luck, games like Wednesday happen.
The winner-take-all Game 3 will be Friday night in Phoenix at 9 p.m. ET.
