Liberty's Stewart to put knee to test in Game 2

NEW YORK -- New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart said she plans to play Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Liberty's first-round WNBA playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury after injuring her knee during Game 1 on Sunday.

"They told me that structurally, everything looks OK," Stewart said during Wednesday morning shootaround at Barclays Center. "So my plan is to go." Stewart said an MRI revealed an MCL sprain.

Stewart crumpled to the floor and grabbed her left knee during overtime of Game 1. She left the game with 2:07 remaining and did not return.

"What I felt in the moment scared me more than anything," the two-time WNBA MVP said. "I'm very happy to have gotten my MRI results back and know that it's something I can play through."

With a win Wednesday, the fifth-seeded Liberty would advance to the semifinals, where they would play the winner of the Minnesota Lynx-Golden State Valkyries series. A loss would send the best-of-three series back to Phoenix.

Stewart had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in Game 1, a 76-69 Liberty win in OT.

Stewart leads the Liberty in points per game (18.3), blocks per game (1.4) and steals per game (1.4). She is second in rebounding with 6.6 per game.

"That's a tough motherf---er," Liberty guard Natasha Cloud said. "That's one of our engines behind the team. So it's a huge relief for us."