The Liberty knew what was at stake.

They knew they were one win away from being celebrated in a way that no New York team had been celebrated here in more than a decade.

There hasn’t been a ticker parade for a local team in the area since the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012, but Mayor Eric Adams promised the Liberty would get their ride through the Canyon of Heroes if they held one Sunday night Win-Take-All Game 5 against the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center.

“It would mean everything,” Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said before the game. “There are just so many people who have New York deep in their veins and who want a championship. And knowing that through the way we play we impact other people’s lives and bring them happiness and joy, that’s what sport is all about.”

Liberty believers have waited 28 long years to feel this kind of happiness and joy. The Liberty are the only founding member of the WNBA to have never won a title and have lost in the Finals five times.

This is the eighth time in league history that the WNBA Finals have come down to a Game 5. The Liberty could have won the championship in four games on Friday, but the Lynx defense held Minnesota to an 82-80 victory after holding Ionescu and Breanna Stewart to a combined 8-for-27 shooting.

Maybe that was something to be expected. Perhaps WNBA fans deserved an all-win moment, considering what kind of basketball season this was and the finals that were played.

In many ways, there couldn’t have been a more perfect ending to this groundbreaking season for women’s basketball than for the teams with the two best records to play a Game 5.

Consider what happened in the last 12 months leading up to Sunday evening. First, Caitlin Clark increased interest in the women’s college game to previously unimaginable levels, and then brought these new fans to the WNBA, helping to both fill arenas and increase television ratings.

Then, after the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team won its sixth straight gold medal, a record number of fans turned their attention back to the WNBA. After setting viewership records during the regular season, viewership for the Liberty’s Game 3 win over Minnesota peaked at two million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA Finals game ever.

The game proved so popular that this will be the final five-game series in the finals. The league has announced it will move to a best-of-seven format next season.

This five-game series was full of great moments. Game 1 featured an 18-point comeback, including Courtney Williams’ four-point play in the final seconds, that gave the Lynx an overtime victory. While the Liberty rebounded with a blowout in Game 2, it took a miracle shot from Ionescu in Game 3 to give the Liberty a 2-1 lead. Game 4 was as even as it gets with 14 lead changes and 13 ties.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve went into the game ready to coach her team to its fifth title, tying Houston and Seattle for the most in WNBA history. Reeve knows something about playing in pressure situations, having played in six of the eight finals where five games have passed.

“I don’t really think about the others,” Reeve said. “I feel very blessed in my career to have had the opportunity to be a part of so many. Didn’t win them all. In Detroit, we suffered heartbreak at home. So it covers the entire spectrum. What just excites me is that this group gets to experience Game 5.”

Although the Liberty would have preferred to finish it in Minnesota, home-court advantage in the playoffs was the driving force behind them posting a league-best 16-4 home record.

The team was motivated all season by the fact that it lost in four games to Las Vegas in last year’s finals. The last thing they wanted was to see another opponent being presented with a trophy at their home stadium. This team was built to win championships and it would be devastating for the fans if they failed again.

“This is what we’ve been working toward on our home court,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said before the game. “So now we have to make the best of it.”

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in Newsday’s sports department. She has been covering sports in New York for more than 20 years.