Nobody has a flair for the dramatic like Diana Taurasi, but it’s never quite looked like it did in a victory on Friday night over the Lynx, as Taurasi took the ball up the court with 6.8 seconds to go and nailed the dagger three to pull ahead in the game. That part wasn’t the surprise, but what turned the volume up on the whole scenario was that while Taurasi’s play moved along, the clock was frozen.
After a steal by third-year forward Brianna Turner, the clock never restarted, yet Taurasi ended up with enough time to get all the way to the opposing three-point line and make a shot before anyone realized.
DIANA TAURASI WITH ICE IN HER VEINS! ❄️ @PhoenixMercury | @WNBA pic.twitter.com/8CuWGnTevo
— CBS Sports WNBA (@CBSSportsWNBA) May 15, 2021
About 10 real-time minutes passed while the referees reviewed the play, standing at the scorer’s table with a literal stopwatch and counting seconds while watching the replay. The officials ended up putting 1.1 seconds back on the clock after the review, and the Lynx didn’t get a shot off to close the game.
Taurasi finished just 3-13 from the field and 2-6 from deep but hit the game-winner when Phoenix needed her and the Mercury got a rare win in Minneapolis over their longtime rival, the Lynx.
Phoenix plays the Sun on the road on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
