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PHOENIX — After corralling the jump ball near the start of overtime Sunday night, Natasha Cloud gestured at Jonquel Jones to set a screen.
She took two dribbles to the right and noticed the nearest Mercury defender was far out of reach after Kahleah Copper ran into a 6-foot-6 wall. So she pulled up and cashed in on the wide-open 3 to give the Liberty a lead they never surrendered.
“I know who I am in these moments,” Cloud said. “When these bright lights come on, I’m a f–king dog, and when I say that, I mean that s–t.”
Cloud meant business Sunday, pouring in a game-high 23 points on a season-high nine made field goals to help the Liberty beat her former team 76-69 in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Cloud’s overtime 3 was similar to the one she drained in the first quarter to keep Phoenix’s defense honest.
On top of her scoring output, Cloud also contributed six rebounds, five assists and four steals as she pestered her former teammate, Copper.
Natasha Cloud #9 of the New York Liberty looks to pass the ball while Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury and DeWanna Bonner #14 attempt to take the ball during overtime at PHX Arena on September 14, 2025. Getty Images“I love it,” Cloud said with a toothy grin. “People think a lot of times the s–t-talking on the court is hostile, whatever. It makes the game better. It entertains y’all better, as well, and as competitors, as dogs, like me and Kah [are] from [Philadelphia], we’re gonna go head-to-head.”
Cloud and Copper went back and forth in the second quarter.
When Copper made a tough pull-up after Cloud fouled, she flexed her arms and yelled.
Cloud returned the gesture on the other side, blowing by Copper and celebrating a three-point play with the same energy.
After the game, Copper called her matchup with Cloud “a great battle.”
Cloud said she grew close with Copper last season and was eager for the challenge of defending one of the league’s fiercest guards and said the flexing was all in good fun.
“If Kah called me tonight and was like, ‘Girl, we need to talk to your little Pisces a–,’ I’ll be like, ‘All right, come my Virgo, let’s do it,’ ” Cloud said. “So it is. We’re competitors on the floor, we’re gonna go at each other, but my love and my respect has always been there for Kah.”
Cloud denied that Sunday was a revenge game.
Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty gestures after making a 3-point basket. APShe said any bad blood with the Mercury she had after they surprisingly traded her to the Sun last offseason has since healed.
She and Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts cleared the air when the Liberty first visited Phoenix earlier this season.
So Sunday was more for her — the kid from Philly who used to count down 3-2-1 in the driveway and imagine making the game-winner on the biggest stage — and her current team, who embraced her for all she is.
“I thrive in these moments because as a competitor, as a dog,” Cloud said, “these are the moments you dream about.”
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