WNBA Playoff-chasing Liberty beat Houston, stay hot

New York is the first team to play on three-straight days.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Fighting for their playoff lives, the New York Liberty hardly looked like a team playing a third game in as many days.
Vickie Johnson scored 18 points, and New York held Houston scoreless over the final 2:10 for a 67-64 victory over the Comets on Monday night.
"Our backs were against the wall and we came out very aggressive," Johnson said. "The main thing we wanted to do is step up on our individual defense, help out where needed and stay aggressive."
The Liberty, who were the first team in WNBA history to play three games in three days, won for the sixth time in nine games.
They broke a fifth-place tie with Indiana and pulled within a half-game of the fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.
"We are not out of the woods yet, but we still have a chance," Liberty coach Richie Adubato said. "We still have to keep winning games."
Tied for third
Cleveland and Connecticut, who play tonight, are tied for third.
Only the top four teams in each conference make the postseason.
The Comets, who entered with victories in nine of 11, slipped 11/2 games behind the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks for first place in the West. Houston (19-11) has four games to go.
"We have not made it to the playoffs yet," said Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes, who had 22 points. "We need to play with more urgency."
Makeup game
The game was being made up after Thursday's scheduled contest was postponed due to the power outage that affected the Northeast, Ohio and Canada. The blackout also forced the Liberty to play on three successive days.
"We cannot make any excuses regardless of how many games they played in a row," Swoopes added. "They must have wanted it a little bit more than we did."
Tamika Whitmore had 15 points for the Liberty (15-16) while Johnson came up with a big defensive play late, making a key steal with 36.9 seconds remaining.
New York forced 16 turnovers, scoring 24 points off those miscues.
"We just refused to lose tonight," Whitmore said. "Everything tonight was determined on the defensive end."
The Comets, who came in 6-3 against teams from the East, lost their fifth straight regular-season game at Madison Square Garden. They haven't won at New York since a 79-54 loss on July 8, 1998.