WNBA Finals: Lynx stun Liberty in OT after multiple comebacks in Game 1

The Minnesota Lynx did not lead for the first 39 minutes and 55 seconds of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Luckily, it's the last five seconds that count. And overtime too.

The Lynx eked out a 95-93 overtime victory in opponent territory on Thursday, staging several double-digit comebacks to stun the title favorites and take a 1-0 lead in the finale. Their victory from an 18-point deficit is the largest comeback victory in WNBA Finals history.

WNBA MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier played hero in overtime, making a contested fadeaway jump shot with 8.4 seconds left.

Collier was tasked with guarding Breanna Stewart on the Liberty's game-winning possession and preventing a shot from an intentional foul. After Stewart got the ball again, she drove off and let in a game-winning shot that ended the game.

Before that, the night depended on the last 10 seconds of regulation. The Lynx got the ball with 18.1 seconds left with a three-point lead. They went twice against playoff star Courtney Williams, who missed her first shot and then made her second shot, a four-point game thanks to a foul by Sabrina Ionescu. It silenced the crowd at Barclays Center.

The Liberty had a chance to get the game back, but a potential Stewart game winner was blocked downfield by Collier. New York got the ball back, passed it back to Stewart and watched as she drew a foul from Collier.

Trailing by a point, Stewart made the first, then missed the second, sending the game into overtime. The two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP was visibly angry with herself as she walked across the court.

Liberty center Jonquel Jones led all scorers with 24 points plus 10 rebounds, while Stewart and Ionescu combined to make 14 of 47 shots from the field. Meanwhile, Williams, Collier and Kayla McBride all scored at least 20 points

The Lynx came back twice against the Liberty

New York began the evening by building a lead of as many as 18 points in the first half, with Barclays Center becoming more eager with each successive basket.

With the Liberty entering Game 1 on Thursday as -275 favorites at BetGM and picked by many to win their first WNBA championship, things could have gotten worse from there. Instead, the Lynx – hardly brave underdogs after leading the WNBA in defensive rating, leading the West with a 30-10 record and continuing to employ four-time champion Cheryl Reeve – allowed only one New York field goal in the final five minutes of the game to second quarter.

Minnesota's run continued in the third quarter, eventually cutting the deficit to just two points. That's when the Liberty offense finally woke up and built another double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. However, recent history repeated itself: the Lynx held the Liberty without a field goal in the final three minutes of the game.

A 14-2 Minnesota run culminated in the Lynx getting the ball back within 18.5 seconds. Then the Williams shot. Then the foul. Then the controversy. Then the overtime. If Game 1 is any sign of things to come, it will be a fun and stressful WNBA Finals.

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in New York (ABC).