This was the first game between the teams at Barclays Center since New York won the decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals last fall.

DiJonai Carrington doesn’t just bring defensive energy. She changes games. The first half of Sunday’s WNBA Finals rematch between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty was a tug-of-war — a gritty battle that never stretched beyond a two-possession margin.

Tari Phillips helped the Liberty reach the WNBA Finals twice in her five seasons with them, from 2000-04, and was an All-Star for the first four. The 55-year-old former forward/center is second in rebounds, fifth in steals and ninth in points on the Liberty’s all-time lists.