NEW YORK -- The Liberty have been finding ways to win close games lately.New York nearly blew an 18-point lead against Seattle before holding on for a 78-74 victory on Wednesday night. The Liberty have won five of their past six games that have either gone to overtime or been decided by four points or fewer.We said we dont want to just be a mediocre team, said Tina Charles, who led New York with 18 points. It was good finding a way to win again as we didnt want to lose two straight games.Since dropping three in a row at the end of May, including two in overtime, New York has won 11 of 14 overall. Tanisha Wright added a season-high 18 points for the Liberty (13-6).New York led for the entire game, building its advantage to 18 in the first half before Seattle rallied behind Breanna Stewart, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft this past April. She finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.Its frustrating losing, but we are competing, Stewart said. We were coming off a back-to-back and wanted to be competitive with one of the best teams in the league.The Storm (6-12) trailed by seven midway through the fourth before Stewart scored five straight to get them within 75-73. After getting a stop on the defensive end, Sue Bird was fouled with 4.9 seconds left and hit the first of two free throws. Her second bounced off the rim and New York grabbed the rebound.Wright hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining and Seattle turned the ball over on its last possession to seal the game.Bird, who grew up on Long Island and said she had about 60 family and friends at the game, matched her season high with 10 assists. She also had 10 assists against New York in the earlier meeting this season in Seattle.A beautiful rendition of the national anthem was sung before the game by a group of students from Daniels Music Foundation. 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FRISCO, Texas -- Rookie sensations Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott made the playoffs with four games to spare in Dallas.The Cowboys and their young stars could clinch everything else -- topped by home-field advantage throughout the playoffs -- with three games remaining if they beat the New York Giants on Sunday night and get some help.Coasting isnt part of the plan for the NFLs best first-year quarterback and the leagues leading rusher.Thats never been our mindset is to coast at any point, Prescott said Wednesday. We get up in games, its not, `Lets coast this game out and finish this win. Its, `Keep the pedal on the metal and get things done.Dallas (11-1) has a shot at a 12-game winning streak, the longest in franchise history , against the only team to beat the Cowboys -- the Giants (8-4) in the opener. A win will wrap up Dallas second NFC East title in three years, and the Cowboys can clinch a first-round bye with either a Detroit loss or tie or a Seattle loss.If both those things happen with the Lions and Seahawks, a Dallas win would mean the Cowboys dont play another meaningful game until the divisional round of the playoffs in five weeks. Thats a lot of time for things to grow stagnant.We dont know how to coast, linebacker Justin Durant said. Check out our practices. Youll see that its no coasting involved. Were always pushing each other at practice, trying to get the best out of each other. So Im not worried about that at all.Durant was with the Cowboys two years ago when they had little chance to change their playoff positioning in the finale at Washington. Coach Jason Garrett chose to play quarterback Tony Romo and most of the regulars on the way to a four-game winning streak to end the regular season.The Cowboys beatt Detroit in a wild-card game at home before falling to Green Bay in the divisional round on the road.ddddddddddddI think its just the mentality that we have as a team and what coach preaches, Durant said. And thats, you get out of it what you put into it. We have to work in order to get good results. Thats what we come in here every day and do.This time, the question figures to come up much earlier. But Garretts answer isnt likely to change much.Yeah, were just focused on Wednesday, he said. Locked in on our meetings this morning. And now were getting ready for practice. Thats the world we live in.There will be an interesting twist if the Cowboys have the luxury of games they dont have to win. Romo is backing up Prescott after the rookies sensational run put the 10-year starter on the bench when he was ready to return from a preseason back injury. As soon as the Cowboys clinch everything, Garrett will face a new round of Romo questions over whether the Cowboys should protect Prescott by playing the franchise leader in yards passing and touchdowns.But that issue can wait. For now, the question is whether the Cowboys can keep their edge.A mentality is something youve built up to get to this point, Elliott said. Its something that is your character. If youre the type of guy who coasts, youre the type of guy who coasts. But we dont have those type of guys in this locker room. I dont have any worries about that.The Cowboys are likely to be tested, though.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '