NEW YORK – For more than three quarters, the game looked like a replay, and then the New York Liberty called for a replay. Again, the Lynx started slowly and fell behind by 17 points in the first half. Here, too, the Lynx were well behind, by nine, with less than nine minutes remaining.

Again they rallied, this time making it two with less than four minutes to play.

But on Sunday, it was the Liberty that finished strong and the Lynx that fell flat.

The Final: New York 80, Minnesota 66 in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals. After pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in Finals history in Game 1, the Lynx ended Game 2 with a pretty epic collapse.

“Our offense was bad when we really needed it,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Our pace was slow. It takes too long to get into things. And you know, I don’t think it was particularly difficult to play against us.”

As a result, the best-of-five series heads back to Target Center for the next two games, with one game tied each, with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday night. The Lynx are hoping for the same boost that the 18,046 fans gave the Liberty at the Barclays Center.

The Lynx lost 12-0 after Courtney Williams drove a layup down the lane with 3:40 left to make it 68-66.

They never scored again. Over the course of a game that seemed within reach, the Lynx went 0-for-5 from the field with three turnovers.