Liberty Grateful For Homecourt Advantage in Fateful Game 5

The New York Liberty certainly hope that there's no place like home in Game 5.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

This decade began with the New York Liberty's vagabond shoes longing to stray. But now that they've made it (back) there, they'll look to prove they can make it anywhere.

A long-gestating metropolitan plan is set to culminate on Sunday night when the Liberty face the Minnesota Lynx in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). By now, the metropolitan stakes require little, if any, explanation, as New York will once again go for its first postseason title after 27 years of searching.

"There's a Game 5, winner-take-all. We are going back to New York, and we're going to get it done," Breanna Stewart said on Friday in Minneapolis, which saw the Lynx at least delay the celebration with an 82-80 triumph. "Our fans are like no other, and to be able to go into our environment on Sunday, we know they have our backs. Whenever there are tough situations, whenever we're fighting through all of this adversity, we know we have the crowd behind us. That's just going to continue to motivate us. Can't wait for Sunday."

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"We're excited to go back to New York. We get to play in front of our home crowd," Sabrina Ionescu added (h/t Gabe Zoda of Sideline Sports). "That's part of being a top seed, is being able to go home and play a Game 5 in front of your home crowd. We knew this wasn't going to be easy, coming into this arena and having to win two was really tough, but we're not done yet. This is part of our story, and we didn't play our best basketball tonight, and we're excited to be able to go home and potentially win a championship in front of our home crowd."

The Liberty came mere free throw attempts short of clinching that elusive title on Friday night at Target Center but Bridget Carleton's freebies with two seconds remaining extended the set. Both teams have now won at least one in enemy territory in comeback fashion: Minnesota clawed back from a record-tying 18 points down to steal Game 1 while the Liberty lifted Game 3 at Target Center thanks to Ionescu's heroic heave in the penultimate second.

New York owns homecourt advantage thanks to its finish atop the WNBA's regular season leaderboard. Both the Liberty and Lynx had the best record within friendly confines this season, matching each other's 16-4 tallies.

Liberty management has often praised the chemistry and camaraderie that has fermented in the last two seasons, where an assembly of All-Stars helped revitalize seafoam-branded basketball. But one can't help but feel a foreboding aura over the future of the current group, especially with a flurry of expansion drafts looming over the next two seasons: the Golden State Valkyries' roster will take shape this holiday season while a deadly double looms in the form of Portland and Toronto's turns this time next year.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

In a broader sense, this is exactly what the Liberty prepared at the start of the decade when those who came before them (i.e. Tina Charles) advocated for the Barclays Center right after they spent two years in Westchester exile. Though relatively young in terms of a WNBA hotbed, Brooklyn has answered the challenge on Atlantic Avenue (no doubt thanks in part to new mascot Ellie the Elephant) and is no doubt prepared to flex its collective muscle come Sunday night.

"We love playing in front of our home crowd," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said after Game 4. "It will definitely be another sellout, and it will definitely be loud and we have to bring our A-game. I have a lot of respect for Minnesota, don't get me wrong. This is a really tough team. They play well. They compete. So we've got one more game, and we're going to win on our home court."

A recurring theme in seafoam circles has been the uncomfortable fact that the team "hasn't won anything yet," a bitter yet hopeful mantra often voiced by Stewart. One can't deny that the Liberty's regular season success has won them a certain lasting triumph: a sixth woman ready for a closeout nearly three decades in the making.

Make sure you bookmark All Knicks for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Knicks Waive Okeke, Warren
• Knicks Waive Shamet
• Hart "Lost" After Preseason Struggles
• Liberty Denied Title in Game 4
• Knicks Say Shamet Out Indefinitely