Lynx stun Liberty with a 95-93 overtime win in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

Napheesa Collier's turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds left helped the Minnesota Lynx to a 95-93 victory over the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night.

With the game tied in overtime, Collier faked in the lane and scored. New York had a chance to equalize, but Breanna Stewart's layup at the buzzer failed.

Courtney Williams had 23 points, Kayla McBride 22 and Collier 21 for Minnesota.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series takes place on Sunday in New York. Before the game, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league would expand the finals to best-of-seven starting next year.

OT got off to a slow start before Minnesota built an 88-84 lead as New York missed its first six shots. Jonquel Jones finally got the Liberty on the board with a corner 3-pointer with 1:38 left. Courtney Williams answered with her own 3-pointer and the teams traded baskets in the next minute. Sabrina Ionescu's steal in the backcourt and layup brought New York to 93-91 with 32.9 left.

Jones then stole the ball in midfield and scored the equalizer four seconds later. Minnesota worked down the clock before Collier's basket broke the tie.

The Liberty blew an 11-point lead in the final 3:23 of regulation as Minnesota scored 12 straight points, capped by Williams' four-point play with 5.5 seconds left.

The Liberty made the most of the final seconds. After Stewart's first shot was blocked by a second shot from the left and went out of bounds, Ionescu hit the ball to her under the basket and she was fouled. The officials reviewed the play to see if the foul occurred before the buzzer sounded and concluded it did, awarding Stewart two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.

She hit the first of two free throws while the second rolled over the rim. Williams' shot on the other side missed and the game went into OT.

Jones led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ionescu finished with 19 and Stewart with 18.

New York scored exactly against Minnesota, which played in the semifinals just two days after defeating Connecticut. The Liberty built an 18-point lead in the first half before the Lynx rallied.

Both teams want to make history in this series. The Liberty are seeking the franchise's first championship while the Lynx are vying for a league-record fifth. They were the best teams of the regular season and took first place in the standings.

New York is back in the Finals for the second straight year and hopes to soothe the scar of its loss to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. Minnesota is appearing in the championship round for the first time since 2017, when the team won its fourth title in a span of seven years.

The Liberty had lost two of the three regular-season meetings against Minnesota and the Commissioner's Cup championship, but both teams said those games didn't really matter on the road to the championship.

The Lynx were able to contain Jones in all three wins, with the Liberty's star center scoring in single digits each time. By the end of the first quarter, it reached double digits on Thursday.

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

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