Washington 79, New York 72

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Chamique Holdsclaw had 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists Thursday night as the Washington Mystics rallied for a 79-74 victory over the New York Liberty in the opening game the Eastern Conference finals.

Holdsclaw was the WNBA's leading scorer and rebounder during the season but received just one MVP vote after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. She dominated the first round of the playoffs as Washington swept Charlotte and took over in the final minutes against New York.

The Liberty had a 62-54 lead with 8 1/2 minutes left before the Mystics scored 15 of the next 20 points. Holdsclaw made a basket with 4:02 left to give Washington the lead for good at 69-67.

Holdsclaw buried a jumper at 2:34 to give Washington a 73-69 edge and Stacey Dales-Schuman added two free throws 38 seconds later. New York's Crystal Robinson sank a three-pointer with 60 seconds remaining to pull her team within 75-72.

Holdsclaw responded with a baseline runner and grabbed the rebound on Robinson's miss before making two free throws with 23 seconds left to seal the win.

Murriel Page scored a career playoff-high 17 points off the bench and Dales-Schuman and and Annie Burgess added nine apiece for the Mystics, who shot 47 percent and made 17 of 19 free throws.

Vickie Johnson scored 21 points and Robinson finished with 20 for New York, which lost despite shooting 54 percent from the floor.