Mercury-Lynx ends bizarrely after clock stops on Diana Taurasi winner: 'This wouldn't happen in the NBA'
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't unusual to see Diana Taurasi help kick off the WNBA's 25th season with a winner against the Minnesota Lynx.
It was unusual, though, to see her hit the shot with time standing still.
That's how the Mercury-Lynx game came to end on Friday, with the Mercury taking possession down one point with 6.8 seconds left on the clock, then Taurasi hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer ... with 6.8 seconds still left on the clock:
DIANA TAURASI WITH ICE IN HER VEINS! ❄️ @PhoenixMercury | @WNBA pic.twitter.com/8CuWGnTevo
— CBS Sports WNBA (@CBSSportsWNBA) May 15, 2021
After a lengthy review, officials ruled there were 1.1 seconds remaining after Taurasi's shot, with the game eventually ending in a 77-75 Mercury win.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was understandably unhappy after the game, telling reporters that an official had accidentally stopped the clock by breathing into a whistle and painting the "review" as a group of officials messing around with a stopwatch.
Reeve said one of the officials accidentally stopped the clock by breathing into the whistle and they didn’t realize it, then “messed around with a stopwatch to figure out how much time was left.”
“They were guessing,” she added. #Lynx #WNBA https://t.co/Vp9OX9iP0D— Mitchell Hansen (@M_Hansen13) May 15, 2021
Cheryl Reeve: "You're put a position to beg for the officials to get it right." #WNBA #CantTameUs
— Dani Bar-Lavi (@dblfluidity) May 15, 2021
Reeve pointedly noted that such a mishap would never happen in the NBA (typically, NBA officials stop play as soon as they realize the clock isn't working).
Cheryl Reeve: "This is not the NBA. This wouldn't happen in the NBA. The NBA would've gotten it right...They couldn't even see the clock. They were guessing." #WNBA #CantTameUs
— Dani Bar-Lavi (@dblfluidity) May 15, 2021
The clock error provided an awkward footnote for what should have been the WNBA's highlight of the night (or co-highlight of the night, alongside Sabrina Ionescu), with one of the greatest players in league history beating a contender to open its season.
On the bright side, the league at least found a way to subtly omit the error on its Twitter account:
DT's clutch triple proves to be enough to seal the game! 🙌 @DianaTaurasi #CountIt pic.twitter.com/cuok16MAYk
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 15, 2021
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