Eighteen seconds.

Eighteen crazy seconds.

Eighteen seconds that could very well decide the fate of the Liberty’s WNBA title ambitions.

The Liberty’s stunning collapse against the Lynx in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday night at Barclays Center resulted in a frenetic, puzzling and devastating sequence at the end of regulation time.

The drama of the eventual 95-93 loss didn’t end until the final rounds of overtime, but the wildest ups and downs, the barrage of “What did we just see?” came in a bizarre stretch at the end of the fourth quarter .

The Liberty, which had led by as many as 18 points and had a 15-point lead with five minutes left, had a three-point lead after they were forced into a shot clock violation with 18 seconds left.

After a Lynx timeout, the Liberty defense forced a missed shot on Courtney Williams’ potentially game-winning 3-pointer, only to allow Alanna Smith to snag the offensive rebound in traffic.

“We had a lot of opportunities to finish the game,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.

Smith threw the ball back to Williams, who managed to find her way behind the arc and negated the re-do while being fouled by Sabrina Ionescu, who was overly aggressive in running towards the tackle.

Williams calmly hit the free throw, capping the four-point play with five seconds left.

Shadow of a reverse Larry Johnson.

Backwards L.

“These things can break your back,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. “And they did.”

Trailing 84-83, the Liberty embarked on a crazy series of attempted inbound passes to set up a potential game winner.

They were fouled the first time – because the Lynx had a foul to give.

On the second inbound, Lynx star Napheesa Collier deflected the pass intended for Liberty colleague Breanna Stewart and the ball went out of bounds.

Unable to determine who had last touched the ball, the referees raised their hands and called for a jump ball.

But the Lynx committed a jump ball violation, giving the Liberty another crack.

In this case, Collier flawlessly blocked Stewart’s shot attempt and threw the ball out of bounds under the basket with one second left.

Again, with feeling: Ionescu directed a final inbound to a cutting Stewart, who was fouled by Collier with 0.8 seconds on the clock.

Stewart, who had repeatedly spoken over time about making amends for her subpar performance in last year’s final, walked to the finish line with the game in her hands.

Make.

Joy in Brooklyn.

Then miss it.

Heartbreak.

“You just focus on getting the shot, getting the first shot… and then doing the second shot right away,” Stewart said. “It’s when you don’t want to think about anything else.

“It’s definitely a shame to miss out.”

Stewart also missed a potentially game-winning layup at the end of overtime.

“I want to take these shots,” Stewart said. “It’s very frustrating, but we can bounce back for Game 2.”