Liberty see self-inflicted turnover problem as Game 1 culprit but Dream star isnt buying it

ATLANTA — It’s been said in sports that film doesn’t lie.The Liberty watched the tape of their Game 1 loss and came away with a clear conclusion: Their third-quarter collapse was mostly self-inflicted.They were the main characters in their own demise.

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.“I would probably say that too if I didn’t want to admit that we got beat by somebody else,” Dream wing Rhyne Howard said Tuesday.The Dream reviewed the same film and walked away believing they were the cause of the Liberty’s defeat.The implication from the Atlanta star?The film may not lie, but the team watching it might be in denial.“We know how we played,” Howard said.

“We know what we’re going to continue to do.If they want to think it’s self-inflicted, then that’s just on them.”New York was well aware of Atlanta’s modus operandi of wanting to feast on opponents’ miscues.

And yet, the Liberty became the Dream’s latest victim in Sunday’s 92-82 defeat.The Liberty coughed up 21 turnovers, which the Dream converted into 32 points to tie a WNBA playoff record.The third quarter was especially brutal.The Dream’s pressure was suffocating.Atlanta stole the ball nine times and scored 16 points off the turnovers.

The fluid ball movement that’s a defining trait of New York’s offense came to a halt.The offense became stagnant and the Liberty were unable to snap out of it.“This is not me trying to point or anything, I just think that there’s things that we can run to kind of get the ball a little bit more, a little more flow, a little bit more energy,” Jonquel Jones said after the loss.

“At times, we were kind of a little bit stagnant with what we were running.”How the Liberty adjust to the Dream’s defensive pressure in Game 2 Wednesday will determine what happens next.Several Liberty players said they thought the Dream would do s...