Embarrassing Game 2 loss leaves New York Liberty with backs against the wall

The Liberty’s new playoff introduction video featured snippets from Nicki Minaj’s diss track “Roman’s Revenge.” Minaj forcefully raps the words, “I’m startin’ to feel like a dungeon dragon,” which elicit aggression and fight. With star forward Breanna Stewart able to play through a sprained MCL, the crowd squealed when her name was announced in the starting lineup.

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The energy in the arena laid all the groundwork for the defending champions to sweep their first-round series and get some extra days off before the semifinals. In the first quarter, that looked like that was where the game was going. The Liberty scored 25 points on 52.6% shooting and assisted on eight of their 10 field goals. The first score of the game went to center Jonquel Jones, and guard Sabrina Ionescu played with an extra burst of energy (and jitters that caused her to miss an uncharacteristic three free throws in the quarter).

But it all went downhill from there as the Mercury’s defense turned it up another level. The Liberty, who handled Phoenix’s physicality quite well in a Game 1 win on Sunday, struggled against it in Game 2. The result was that the No. 5 seed Liberty fell to the No. 4 seed Mercury 86-60 in a historic loss.

If New York doesn’t find a way to win on the road again in Phoenix on Friday, its season will end. The Liberty’s lackluster performance on Wednesday could be the last time their fans see them this calendar year, but also potentially for longer if there’s a substantial work stoppage due to ongoing negotiations over the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

“I think we know that we got to play better next game because this shouldn’t be the end and how we leave them,” Ionescu told reporters postgame. “You know, us as a team, but especially our fan base, who supported us through a lot of highs and lows. They deserve to have more games played here, and we do as well. We got to go out and fight for our lives, fight for our season and wanting to come back.”

Ionescu didn’t look like herself on the court on Wednesday, shooting 3-for-13 from the field and 1-for-8 from 3-point range. She didn’t look like herself off of it, either. When Ionescu was sitting on the bench with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, she had her warm-up jacket over her mouth. Moments later, she was hunched over, then immediately got up from the bench and ran into the Liberty’s tunnel. She returned soon after, joining forward Emma Meesseman at the end of the bench.

When Ionescu sat at the press conference table after the game, she looked dazed, pale and at times about to hurl. When the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney asked Ionescu how she was feeling, though, Ionescu brushed it off.

“I mean, I’m all right,” she said. “I’m never gonna use anything as an excuse, so I’ll be better Friday.”

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How much better can the Liberty be when Stewart, a two-time MVP and three-time WNBA champion, was less aggressive and even exploited due to the Mercury’s physicality? In her first game after she sprained her MCL, she was wearing a high-tech brace on her left knee. While she moved well during pregame warmups, she was hesitant in the game, only scoring 6 points on 2-for-6 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and three turnovers.

One of the keys for New York on Wednesday was to reduce its 21 turnovers from Game 1. While the Liberty did cut that down to 15, the impact of those turnovers was different. The Mercury scored 25 points off the Liberty’s turnovers on Wednesday, compared to 15 on Sunday. And the Mercury had 20 fast-break points on Wednesday to the Liberty’s 2. Those two statistics went hand in hand.

“I think our turnovers led to those easy baskets in transition,” head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters postgame. “So that’s something we’ve spoken about where we just have to have a little bit more discipline there. And we’re taking the ball out of the basket a fair bit, so that kind of slowed us.”

Part of the Liberty’s identity when Stewart was healthy was that she could outrun opponents in transition when her team got a stop. There weren’t many situations where the Liberty pushed the ball and were able to get out and run on Wednesday.

There were multiple moments when Jones rebounded the ball and was pushing it up, but the Liberty weren’t running. The Mercury’s defense was able to get set without giving up any advantages the Liberty could exploit. Stewart, the team’s motor and the player a large part of its offense and defense is built around, wasn’t her most confident, and as a result, neither were the Liberty.

“I think that it probably became more of a mental barrier than a physical one,” Stewart told reporters postgame about her knee. “I mean, obviously, everyone knows what I’m dealing with. But the good about today was I was able to test it. I was able to see how I felt, and really I look forward to Friday of really letting loose.”

Phoenix ran a high ball screen on Stewart to challenge and test her knee, and she held herself accountable for not being able to match the Mercury’s physicality. But Stewart assured reporters postgame that she and her team will be ready for the pressure the Mercury will put on her and the Liberty on Friday.

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Prior to Game 2, Liberty guard Marine Johannès spoke about what it meant for her to see Stewart play when she wasn’t 100% healthy. “Every time, she’s showing that she’s a real leader,” Johannès told The Next.

Stewart’s leadership has developed over the years, but part of what makes it stand out is how confident she can be even when the odds are stacked against her and her team.

Meesseman — who was the Liberty’s most productive scorer in Game 2 with 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench — noted that Stewart still had a lot of fire after the loss. Stewart’s message was short and succinct, but it carried.

“We have to be ready and we’ll go there [and] play like we know how we can play,” Meesseman said, summarizing what Stewart had to say. “So that was basically it. It’s just a moment that everybody took those words and we have to believe it and have that confidence.”

Jones was also asked about the vibe in the locker room. She explained that there wasn’t panic; instead, there was an understanding that what they gave wasn’t good enough. “The vibe is our season isn’t over,” she told reporters.

But while the Liberty’s season isn’t over, the turnaround is quick, and the mountain to climb is steep, with Ionescu clearly dealing with something and Stewart not 100% healthy.

“Hopefully tomorrow she can get some more treatment on the flight,” Meesseman said about Stewart. “I don’t know how that works, but we’ll see how it goes.”