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.

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.

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.