http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/sports/basketball/phoenix-mercury-defeat-new-york-liberty-wnba-playoffs.html 2016-09-25 05:23:11 Led by Diana Taurasi, Mercury Eliminate the Liberty Taurasi scored a game-high 30 points, including a huge 3-pointer to end a string of Liberty comebacks, to end the Liberty’s playoff season after one game. === The Liberty had erased an 11-point halftime deficit in a W.N.B.A. playoff game, and for every move the Phoenix Mercury made as they tried to pull away, the Liberty responded, tying the score four times. By the time less than a minute and a half remained, one of the W.N.B.A.’s most reliable playoff performers, Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, had seen enough. With her team leading, 90-86, Taurasi pulled up for a 3-pointer that swished through the net and then shook her head, wagging one finger repeatedly toward the crowd at Madison Square Garden. The message was delivered. There would be no more comebacks. Taurasi scored a game-high 30 points and improved to 6-0 in playoff elimination games on the road, leading the Mercury to a 101-94 win over the Liberty in the second round on Saturday night. The result ended the Liberty’s season after just one playoff game. The Liberty’s No. 3 seeding had given them a bye in the first round of the W.N.B.A.’s new playoff format for this season, which features single-game playoffs for all but the semifinals and final and eliminates the importance of conferences in the postseason matchups. The Mercury, the eighth seed, advanced to the semifinals against the Minnesota Lynx. “That game had everything, didn’t it?” Mercury Coach Sandy Brondello said. “I was a little critical of the knockout dance, but I’ll go with it right now.” Tanisha Wright scored a team-high 21 points for the Liberty, who remain the only original W.N.B.A. franchise not to have won a title during the league’s 20 seasons. Tina Charles added 19 points and 9 rebounds. Swin Cash, who has said she plans to retire, finished scoreless in more than 11 minutes of play, but her impact on the team was evident before the game. Through the season, Cash has guided her teammates as they have staged protests in response to police shootings and gun violence. Before Saturday’s game, Liberty guard Brittany Boyd arrived at the Garden wearing a No. 7 San Francisco 49ers jersey to support Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who has become a leading voice among athletes in the national discussion on race, violence and policing. During the national anthem, Boyd sat on the bench with her head bowed. Two members of the Mercury, Kelsey Bone and Mistie Bass, knelt during the anthem, the ritual Kaepernick adopted after originally sitting through it. The Mercury players had made a similar statement before, as had Boyd in the Liberty’s final regular-season home game. The Mercury, despite being the lowest seed, presented a tough matchup for the Liberty. The Mercury went into the season as a title favorite, but they played erratically and stumbled to a 16-18 record. Still, the new format apparently suited the Mercury, who upended the fifth-seeded Indiana Fever on the road on Wednesday. Taurasi helped the Mercury jump ahead early with 10 first-quarter points. The Liberty fought back to pull ahead, 25-23, their only lead of the game. Their frontcourt players, Carolyn Swords and Charles, combined for 18 points in the first quarter. The Mercury led by 15 points during the first half, when Penny Taylor and Brittney Griner combined for 30 points. The Liberty opened the second half on a 13-2 run, tying the game on a 3-pointer by Charles. The teams traded baskets, but the Liberty kept forcing tough outside shots when they had a chance to go ahead. There would be no such miscalculation by Taurasi, who drove through the Liberty’s interior defense and scored 17 points in the final quarter. As the final seconds ticked off, Shavonte Zellous sat next to Cash on the bench and began consoling her, rubbing her shoulders. Boyd then hugged Cash as they walked off the floor.