Liberty 'embarrassed' by Mercury in 26-point rout

NEW YORK -- The reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty are a nonaccomplishment distant from playoff elimination aft getting what prima Breanna Stewart said was "embarrassed" by the Phoenix Mercury 86-60 astatine Barclays Center connected Wednesday night.

It was the worst location playoff decision successful Liberty past and ranks arsenic the second-largest playoff nonaccomplishment by a defending champion successful WNBA history. Many fans who arrived hoping to escort the Liberty into the semifinals alternatively filed retired of the arena with 4:54 near successful the 4th quarter.

A decisive Game 3 volition beryllium successful Phoenix connected Friday.

"They came successful and they embarrassed america connected our location court," Stewart said. "Now we person to spell backmost determination for Game 3. Winner instrumentality all. If we're not acceptable for that, past we shouldn't beryllium here."

Stewart, who sprained her MCL successful the last minutes of a 76-69 Game 1 overtime win, started but wore a brace connected her near knee. She played 20 minutes but had conscionable six points and 2 rebounds, ending her streak of 44 consecutive playoff games with astatine slightest 10 points. She entered the crippled averaging 18.3 points and 6.6 rebounds this season. Stewart scored 2 first-half points, tied for the fewest she's had successful immoderate fractional during her playoff career.

Stewart said she was blessed with however the genu responded to being tested Wednesday nighttime but was unhappy with her performance.

"I conscionable wasn't wherever I wanted to beryllium today," she said. "And I person 48 hours to fig it out."

Phoenix's defence suffocated New York, holding it 24 points beneath its play mean of 84.4 points per game. The Mercury had 10 steals, and New York finished with 15 turnovers.

The Liberty changeable 10-for-20 from the tract successful the archetypal quarter, but conscionable 9-for-43 crossed the last three.

"Defense has been our calling paper each year," Phoenix manager Nate Tibbetts said. "The anticipation is erstwhile you get to the playoffs, you level up. I deliberation we've done that."

The crippled was tied astatine 25 aft the archetypal quarter, but the Liberty illness was swift and decisive aft that. The database of things that went incorrect for New York, which won the franchise's archetypal WNBA rubric a twelvemonth ago, was agelong and varied:

• Sabrina Ionescu, who changeable 93% from the escaped propulsion enactment during the regular season, missed her archetypal 4 escaped throws. She finished 2-for-6 from the enactment and 3-of-13 from the field, including 1-for-8 connected 3-point attempts.

• The Liberty were outscored 26-12 successful the 2nd 4th and 18-10 successful the third. They made a full of 5 tract goals crossed the 2 frames.

• The Liberty's archetypal points of the 2nd fractional didn't travel until 5:09 successful the 3rd quarter, and they didn't people their archetypal tract extremity of the 2nd fractional until the 1:35 mark.

• The Liberty starting 5 changeable a combined 10-for-38 (26.3%) from the field, with nary starter scoring successful treble figures.

• The 22 combined points from Stewart (6), Ionescu (9) and Jonquel Jones (7) marked their fewest successful 109 games arsenic teammates, according to ESPN Research.

"All of america person to measurement our crippled up, our defence up, our discourtesy up," Jones said. "We're specified a almighty squad offensively, and contiguous they were capable to truly congest america and muck things up."

Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas paced Phoenix with 15 points each. Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner each had 14. Sabally had 4 steals.

It was a signif...