LAS VEGAS — The Phoenix Mercury led Game 1 of the WNBA Finals for more than two-thirds of the game, but couldn’t finish what they started in their 89-86 loss to the Las Vegas Aces .

The Mercury were ahead for more than 27 minutes Friday and their biggest lead was nine points after Monique Akoa Makani hit three consecutive free throws to give them a 66-57 advantage with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

Phoenix’s last lead was 82-80 with a little less than 5 minutes left in the game.

So what went wrong?

“They made a couple plays down the stretch we didn’t,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbets said. “That’s why this is going to be a great series, right?”

It could be, if the Mercury don’t make the same mistakes Sunday in Game 2 under the pressure of a raucous arena that had a sellout crowd of 10,

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