MINNEAPOLIS — By her own admission, Sabrina Ionescu hit the biggest shot of her career Wednesday night.
Yet she had no recollection of how it happened.
“I didn’t even remember it,” Ionescu said. “I had to go look at the video to see how far I was.”
Ionescu sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, lifting the New York Liberty to an 80-77 win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night.
Her shot from 28 feet, a few steps in front of the Lynx logo at midcourt, gave New York a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five series.
The Liberty will have a chance to clinch the first title in franchise history Friday night in Game 4 at Minneapolis.
Breanna Stewart finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds for New York. Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich each added 13 points.
The Liberty shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field, 40 percent (10-for-25) from 3-point range and made all 14 of their free-throw attempts.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 22 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Kayla McBride scored 19, Bridget Carleton contributed 14 and Courtney Williams contributed 12.
The Lynx shot 38.7 percent (29-for-75) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from beyond the arc and 83.3 percent (10-for-12) at the free-throw line.
New York trailed by 10 points with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter before storming back.
Stewart led the comeback. She scored 13 New York points in a row near the end of the third quarter and through the start of the fourth quarter as the Liberty clawed back what was once a 15-point deficit to tie the score at 69-all.
“‘Stewie’ willed us,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.
Ionescu agreed.
“We don’t win this game without ‘Stewie,'” she said.
Stewart said she used anger to fuel her second-half run. Why was she so mad?
“We were losing,” she said with a shrug.
At least, that is, until it mattered most.
Ionescu fed a pass to Jones for a cutting layup to put New York on top 74-73 with 1:31 remaining. New York grabbed a 77-73 lead on its next possession as Ionescu knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Minnesota rallied to even the score. Bridget Carleton made a finger-roll layup to cut the deficit to two points with 34.6 seconds left, and Collier calmly sank a pair of free throws to force a 77-77 tie with 16 seconds to go.
Then came Ionescu’s brightest blackout moment.
“I was able to get a little separation in range,” Ionescu said. “I got the space I needed to get my feet under me. … Sometimes it goes in. Sometimes it doesn’t. But I’ve practiced that shot 1,000 times. In my head. On the court.”
And, now, in the WNBA Finals.
Brondello said her players never faltered in the face of pressure. They squandered an 18-point lead in Game 1 of the series, only to reverse roles and rally from a double-digit deficit six days later.
“We stayed resilient,” she said. “We stayed the course. That shows a lot of growth with this team.”
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said a couple of missed shots late in the fourth quarter proved costly. She watched her team storm to a 23-9 lead to start the game in front of the largest crowd in franchise history (19,521), but the Liberty withstood the early flurry and made a few key stops in the final minutes.
“Our defense gave us a chance to win the game, period,” Reeve said. “Our offense has got to help our defense.”
Reeve said her players’ shot selection seemed OK, but the outcome left her wanting more.
“I’ll have to look at the film,” Reeve said. “I know when I was watching it live, I liked some of the shots that we were getting. I’ve seen our players make those shots.
“It’s not to sit here and say that New York doesn’t get credit for their defense. They’re a good defensive team. I’ll definitely have to watch it, but it felt like we had some good opportunities.”
–Tom Musick, Field Level Media
