There was silence at the sold-out Barclays Center crowd of 17,732 on Thursday night as the New York Liberty trailed the Minnesota Lynx by a point in the final moments of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Necks craned to see the jumbotron, which had a still image of the final 0.8 seconds of the game pasted into it. After gathering for a video review, the game officials concluded that Napheesa Collier had fouled Breanna Stewart on the final play of the game. sends Stewart to the line. She fired her first shot from the charity jersey but missed the second, sending the contest into overtime at 84-84.

From there, Minnesota stormed to a 95-93 victory, stealing New York’s first game in its home opener, leading to one of the greatest comebacks in WNBA Finals history. It was a stunning turnaround in a contest in which the Liberty led much of the way – at times by as much as 18 points.

“We’re just taking it lightly,” Stewart said after the game. “It’s a series … but the nice thing is we have another game on Sunday.”

In the opening frames, New York looked every bit the “businesslike” machine that coach Sandy Brondello had described hours before the game began, storming to a 32-point first-quarter hit. (32 is the most points Minnesota has allowed in the first quarter all season.) On the other hand, the Lynx looked like a team that had just completed a physical five-game series 48 hours earlier. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve downplayed the significance the lynx’s brutal travel schedule and lack of rest before Game 1, but there’s no doubt the normally tenacious group looked tired.

However, Minnesota miraculously regained its momentum after halftime, and the Lynx got within two points of the Liberty in the third quarter. New York managed to keep the Lynx at bay until the final frame, as Minnesota delivered – thanks in large part to Courtney Williams’ game-winning play – and the Liberty fell short as Stewart’s shot fell short.

“I thought we gave up our principles,” Brondello said after the game. “We had a great first quarter and then they turned up the energy. They overtook us.”

New York will want to come back from this loss for many reasons, not the least of which is that they managed to get Jonquel Jones going – something that has proven difficult against Minnesota this year. Jones failed to score at least 10 points in the Liberty’s last three losses to the Lynx this season. On Thursday night, she posted a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Normally, like Jones, so does Liberty. It has to be somewhat concerning for New York that Game 1 is an outlier in that trend.

“JJ had a great game,” Stewart said. “The way she was aggressive from start to finish is what we need.”

For their part, the Lynx were simply dominant down the stretch and refused to go out of the game, despite losing the rebounding battle 44-32. Collier, Williams and Kayla McBride all finished with over 20 points as Minnesota shot 50.7% from the field. In contrast, the Liberty offense began to sputter as the game progressed, shooting just 37.8% from the floor.

“I think it defines our team,” Reeve said of the group’s comeback in Game 1, “in terms of getting through tough times.”

While last year’s finalists saw the League Cup within reach, Game 1 was a stark reminder that home advantage does not equate to winning a championship. The Liberty didn’t play nearly their best basketball on Thursday night. But Minnesota also showed tremendous courage and upended any preconceived notions about this series. With a 1-0 lead in the series, the Lynx have the Liberty on the ropes and look far more balanced than their shared finals appearance suggests.