NY Post's Dexter Henry from Barclays Center after Liberty's win over Mercury

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00:00The homestand continues to get better for the New York Liberty.

00:03They won their fifth game in a row, 89-76, over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night here at the Barclays Center.

00:11And this was a game in which the Liberty did not play well early on.

00:14They struggled with their shot. Phoenix came out really hot.

00:18But then they were able to turn things around over the next three quarters

00:21as they outscored the Mercury 66-49 in the second, third, and fourth quarter.

00:26Head coach Sandy Rondello talked about what went right for her team over the final three quarters of this game.

00:32We brought some urgency. We competed a little bit harder.

00:36We're more at the point. We're switching.

00:38I think we just started to switch because the person coming off,

00:41they just wanted to pass it back to the short roll, so via switch.

00:44We just got a little bit more focused and disciplined how we wanted to play

00:48and that really got us energized so we could get out.

00:52These two here, obviously, really love the attack on offense.

00:55So a lot went right for the Liberty to win this game on offense and defense,

00:59and the defense turned up.

01:00But when you talk about the offensive side of the ball,

01:03you have to look no further than Sabrina Unescu.

01:0529 points, eight times in this contest.

01:08And then Jonquil Jones added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

01:12The Liberty also took advantage of second-chance points,

01:14outscoring the Mercury 21-10.

01:17And Sabrina Unescu liked what she saw from her team offensively after a slow start.

01:22Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't.

01:24But I think our ability to be able to understand,

01:26all right, the ball's not going in right now from the three-quarter line.

01:29Let's find a different way.

01:30And for us, that was we got to the free throw line and we got pink touches.

01:33JJ was a huge part of that.

01:36We had some back cuts and layups.

01:39Transition offense was really good for us.

01:40And then when you're flowing like that,

01:42you get to kind of get those open looks.

01:44And, you know, a lot of averages, it always kind of evens out.

01:47And so for us, it's kind of trusting in our shot,

01:49but then knowing when there's a different way that we can execute

01:52to get easier looks to then be able to hit those shots when we need them.

01:55Now, heading into this contest, both teams knew that this was a big game

01:59and you could feel the playoff-like vibe.

02:01I wouldn't quite call it the playoffs yet,

02:03but a playoff-like vibe here at the Barclays Center on Friday night.

02:06It was a huge game for both teams.

02:08The Mercury had already defeated Liberty twice earlier this season.

02:12So the Liberty came into this one looking for a bit of revenge.

02:15A win in this contest, which they got,

02:18would help them have a chance to even the season series

02:20in their final meeting later this season.

02:23And John Cole Jones says, yes, this was a big game,

02:26but not quite ready to call it playoff-like just yet.

02:29We played them the last time and we weren't, you know, at full strength.

02:32And so we kind of wanted to come out and kind of set the tone

02:36and, you know, just introduce them to us at full strength.

02:40So it was an important game for us.

02:42It was definitely a physical game.

02:43Man, both teams really wanted to win,

02:46but I wouldn't really call it like a playoff-like atmosphere or not.

02:52It was an important win for the Liberty as they now move three and a half games.

02:56They're in second place in the W standings.

02:58So now three and a half games ahead of the Phoenix Mercury for third place.

03:02And they are three and a half games still behind the Minnesota Lynx

03:06for the top spot in the W standings.

03:08Next up for the Liberty, they will battle the L.A. Sparks here at the Barclays Center.

03:13Quick turnaround.

03:13That'll be tomorrow.

03:14So it's a back-to-back as they will look to make it six wins in a row

03:18and conclude their eight-game homestand here in the month of July.

03:2289-76 victory for the Liberty here at the Barclays Center on Friday.

03:26We'll see how they fare moving on to close out this homestand.

03:30I'm Dexter Henry for New York Post Sports.

03:32I'm Dexter Henry for New York Post.

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