But on Friday night in Phoenix, the Mercury flipped the script. In front of a fired-up home crowd for a decisive Game 3, the Mercury stunned the Liberty 79–73 to knock out the reigning champs and punch their ticket to the next round.

Phoenix Mercury edged the New York Liberty 79-73 in a physical Game 3, surviving late runs to advance in the WNBA playoffs. Here’s how they pulled it off.

Alyssa Thomas had a 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in her fifth career playoff triple-double, and the Phoenix Mercury advanced to the second round of the WNBA playoffs by eliminating the defending champion New York Liberty 79-73 in Game 3 on Friday night.

Breanna Stewart did not waste any time making a definite statement on her future with the Liberty following their playoff exit.

The Phoenix Mercury advanced to the second round of the WNBA playoffs by eliminating the defending champion New York Liberty 79-73 in Game 3 on Friday night.

The No. 5 Liberty defeated the No. 4 Mercury 76-69 in overtime on Sunday at PHX Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the series and steal homecourt advantage

The New York Liberty could not come close to producing enough offense in a critical third-quarter stretch on Wednesday because the Phoenix Mercury turned up the defensive intensity in an 86-60 Game 2 road victory.