With LeBron James sitting courtside, much of the Verizon Center crowd’s attention Friday night was on the reigning NBA MVP as he watched the Washington Mystics face the Connecticut Sun.
But the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar quickly became an afterthought in the game’s final 10 minutes. After he disappeared into a tunnel toward the end of the fourth quarter, Washington and Connecticut engaged in a playofflike duel.
Crystal Langhorne hit a 17-foot jumper at the top of the key with 9.9 seconds left in double overtime, the difference in Washington’s 91-89 victory.
“It was funny because we were actually working on [3-pointers] in shootaround today, so I was just like, ’Let me just shoot it,’ ” Langhorne said. “I just didn’t want to turn the ball over at that point.”
Langhorne’s winning jumper was the culminating moment of a night in which the forward set career highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds. Her performance was a microcosm of a breakout season in which she has developed her game and become Washington’s most consistent player.
She entered the league after a standout career at Maryland but virtually had no jump shot. Improving her range was her top priority this past offseason; on Friday night, she saw the dividends.
“I wouldn’t have taken that shot last year - I think everybody knows that,” Langhorne said. “So [playing] overseas really helped me with that kind of stuff.”
The win halted Washington’s tailspin - it had dropped three of four entering Friday’s game - and dramatically improved its playoff hopes. The Mystics (12-11) won the season series with the Sun (12-11) and hold the tiebreaker against them, a key insurance policy this year in an Eastern Conference logjam.
“This is what we needed,” said Alana Beard, who had a game-high 26 points. “We needed a game like this to know that we could finish because that’s been the story - we never could close out games. But we kept fighting and that’s huge for us, especially at this time [in the season].”
The Mystics made a series of plays at the end of regulation in overtime to prevail.
Connecticut point guard Lindsay Whalen hit a driving layup to give the sun a 73-71 lead with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, but Beard answered with a jumper at the other end. After a Connecticut timeout, Beard tied up guard Erin Phillips on the ensuring inbounds play.
Beard won the jump ball at center court, tipping it to Lindsey Harding, who returned it to Washington’s All-Star for the final shot. But she lost the ball on the way up, and it landed in the hands of Harding, whose desperation 3-pointer rimmed out.
Connecticut opened the extra session with four straight points, but the Mystics fought back. They again had the final possession, and Beard’s pull-up jumper with three seconds remaining hit the front iron and caromed out of bounds off a Connecticut player. The Mystics only had 0.5 seconds for a baseline inbounds play, and a lob to Nakia Sanford for a tip-in attempt was well-guarded.
Washington finally converted in double overtime. With about 30 seconds left and the score tied at 89-89, Langhorne set a screen for Beard, who tried to drive but was faced with a double team - similar to the botched attempt at the end of regulation. Beard found Langhorne open at the top of the key, and she delivered the winner.
“This is what we practice for,” Beard said. “We came out in the two overtimes, and we kept fighting. They came out and they hit us first in both overtimes, and we just kept fighting and coming back. We stayed together, and we did the little things right.”
• Mike Fratto can be reached at mfratto@washingtontimes.com.
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