NEW YORK — Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was ruled out on Sunday for her second straight game, after being sidelined by a hip injury she suffered last week.
The All-Star worked out about an hour before Sunday’s game against New York on the court and looked good doing an array of post moves and jumpers. She told The Associated Press when she walked in the arena that she hoped to play.
Instead she sat on the bench cheering on her teammates, being ruled out about 20 minutes before the game after being listed as questionable on the injury report.
It was Griner’s first game in New York since being detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year. The Liberty went on to beat the Mercury 89-71, dropping Phoenix to 2-8 on the season.
Before the game, Griner signed autographs and posed for photos with fans, one of whom had a sign that read “NY [hearts] BG.” She also caught up with USA Basketball teammate Breanna Stewart and other Liberty players pregame.
Stewart wore a Griner jersey walking into the arena, and the two exchanged a hug and chatted for a while during warmups.
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached Griner from 2014 to ’21 in Phoenix, said she had dinner with Griner on Saturday night when the Mercury got to New…
