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

The Lynx scratched and clawed their way to a 95-93 victory in enemy territory on Thursday, making multiple double-digit comebacks to stun the title favorites and take a 1-0 lead in the final. Their victory from an 18-point deficit is the biggest 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 possession, preventing one shot with an intentional foul. After Stewart got the ball again, she drove and got a tying shot to end the game.

Before that, the night revolved around the final ten seconds of regulation. The Lynx got the ball down three points with 18.1 seconds left. They went twice to playoff star Courtney Williams, who missed her first shot and then made her second, a four-point play thanks to a Sabrina Ionescu foul. It silenced the crowd at the Barclays Center.

The Liberty had a chance to put the game back there, but a potential game-winner from Stewart was blocked by Collier in the paint. New York got the ball back, shot it back to Stewart and watched as she fouled Collier.

Down one point, Stewart made the first and then missed the second, sending the game to overtime. The two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP was visibly furious 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 started the night by building a lead as large as 18 points in the first half, erupting with an eager Barclays Center with each successive basket.

With the Liberty entering Game 1 on Thursday as a -275 favorite at BetGM and picked by many to win their first WNBA championship, things could only have gotten uglier from there. Instead, the Lynx — hardly plucky underdogs after leading the WNBA in defensive rating, leading the West with a 30-10 record and employing four-time champion Cheryl Reeve — allowed just one New York field goal during the last five minutes of the match. second quarter.

Minnesota’s run continued in the third quarter, eventually cutting the deficit to just two points. The Liberty offense finally woke up at that point and built another double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. However, recent history repeated itself as 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 in 18.5 seconds. Then Williams fired. Then the violation. Then the controversy. Then the overtime. If Game 1 is a sign of things to come, it will be a fun and stressful WNBA Finals.

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 PM ET in New York (ABC).