The New York Liberty won Game 2 at home to tie the WNBA Finals. Sabrina Ionescu unfastened Minnesota’s coverages early on. Breanna Stewart registered a record seven steals in a championship bout. And Betnijah Laney-Hamilton connected on four back-breaking trays.

Early, the Lynx’s offense missed four makeable 3-pointers and committed five turnovers, while the hosts’ defense prevented any trips to the line. Additionally, the Liberty converted its first 13 of 18 field goal attempts and held a 10-point lead through 12 minutes. 

Most of the action came from Ionescu, who scored a layup on the break, dribbled into the paint for a floater, curled around a pick, making a jumper in the middle and downed two trays. Stewart and Laney-Hamilton each contributed seven marks.

Subsequently, the Liberty was held to 29.4% shooting in the second quarter. Yet, five offensive rebounds that turned into four second-chance points, multiple trips to the line, and forcing five turnovers made them match the Lynx’s scoring. Despite the inaccuracy, the hosts were the nastier team. At one moment, their advantage rose to 17 points. 

The Liberty led at intermission, 49-39. The squad had 14 paint points, 10 on the break, six via second chances, 14 off turnovers and four from the bench. 

The Lynx put up 20 interior marks, nine in the open court, none on extra tries, six off turnovers and three from the reserves.

Then the guests came out of the break dropping four of six baskets by hand of Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith. But the Liberty’s defense tightened up, holding the guests to two of 10 baskets by contesting jumpers on time and having help rotate promptly. 

Offensively, the Liberty were in the mud in the third quarter, too. Jonquel Jones, Ionescu and Stewart were the only providers, each with four marks.

Next, the fourth quarter started with the hosts ahead 61-53.

When the Lynx were within striking distance, Napheesa Collier hit a fadeaway and a power-step through the lane. And Williams dribbled past Jones from the top to the cup for a scoop. But it wasn’t enough.

Laney-Hamilton responded with a corner 3-pointer, and Leonie Fiebich struck the next blow: the wing 3-pointer on the break that stretched the lead to nine points supplied by Williams dribbling the ball off her foot. 

On top of that, Stewart continued being a defensive menace. Her doubling produced a strip on Williams and she poked a bal loose from the post plus broke up a bad pass from Collier. 

The Liberty won 80-66. The team had 28 paint points, 19 on the break, 10 via second chances, 26 off turnovers and seven from the bench. 

Stewart had 21 digits on seven of 18 attempts, with eight rebounds, five assists, one block, seven steals and five giveaways.

 Laney-Hamilton contributed 20 points on 57.1% accuracy, with two rebounds, two assists, one steal and three turnovers. 

Ionescu put up 15 points on five of nine looks, with four rebounds, five assists, two seals and two giveaways. 

And Jones had 14 points 46.2% shooting, with nine rebounds, one dime, two steals and four turnovers.

The Lynx had 34 interior marks, 13 in the open court, four on spare attempts, 17 off turnovers and five from the reserves. 

Collier put up 16 points on seven of 12 shots, with eight boards, three dimes, four steals and seven giveaways.

Williams had 15 digits on 50% accuracy, with eight assists, six rebounds, one steal and five turnovers.

And Smith had 14 points on six of nine tries, with two rebounds, two assists, one steal and three turnovers. 

After the game, Stewart said she couldn’t wait to play following the upset in Game 1. When asked about her defense, she said, “I wanted to make it difficult for every single one of the players I was going up against…”

At the post-match presser, Ionescu was asked about how defensive pressure impacts her play. She said, “Being able to understand how teams are playing me and being able to kind of make that adjustment in real time. Possession by possession, quarter by quarter, teams have kind of changed the way they’ve guarded. Whether they are switching, hedging, trapping…”

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The hosting Liberty took their fingers off the trigger, and the Lynx struck them down. The visitors were behind 15 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter but rose from the grave on moves from Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Natisha Hiedeman and Napheesa Collier to force overtime. They then outmarked the Liberty, 11-8.

Early, the Liberty were making pelts out of the Lynx. Jonquel Jones overmatched inside protections. Sabrina Ionescu added a pair of trays and spun into the lane, making a floater. Leonie Fiebich downed two 3-pointers. And they pieced up the glass, coming up with six extra tries that turned into 10 points. 

The Lynx countered with seven of 14 baskets but were still on their heels. 

Subsequently, the deficit expanded to below 18 points nearly four minutes into frame two. But the Lynx started showing fangs- the defensive pressure on Ionescu skyrocketed, bothering her with length and using blitzes that neutralized her passes. Fiebich’s four 3-point attempts were contested cleanly, too.

Offensively, Collier scored back-to-back shots on the break that slashed the deficit to single digits. And McBride blasted a corner triple and tallied a coast-to-coast basket.

The Lynx were down 36-44 at intermission. The team had 18 paint points, six on the break, three via second chances, four off turnovers and five from the bench.

The Liberty put up 20 interior marks, 15 in the open court, 12 on extra tries, eight off turnovers and five from the reserves.

Next, McBride, Collier and Bridget Carleton opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run. Yet the Liberty’s German sniper retaliated with a trifecta from each corner. Jones hit a 12-foot jumper and two free throws. And Stewart supplied seven more points. 

The fourth quarter started with the Lynx down 61-68. With five minutes left, New York’s advantage had climbed back to 15 points. Jones produced at the line. Stewart splashed a 3-pointer. Fiebich added five extra marks. And Ionescu made a transition layup. 

But the Lynx clawed their way back again. McBride and Hiedeman connected on triples. Collier hit a mid-range jumper off the catch, powered by Stewart for a bank shot and denied Jones at close range. And Williams, maneuvered to the left for an 18-footer, cut up the break, making a floater and nailed the four-point play that gave the Lynx the lead with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth.

Then Collier blocked Stewart at three feet from the cup. Stewart got off another attempt but was fouled by Collier with .1 seconds left. As the Liberty were down a point, she only converted one of two, setting up overtime instead of taking the win. 

In overtime, Williams had five points but had a brutal turnover that Ionescu scored on, cutting the Lynx lead to two points. Collier had back-to-back steals and made the dagger fadeaway over Jones. 

The Lynx won 95-93. The team had 42 paint points, 17 on the break, 11 via second chances, 17 off turnovers and 15 from the bench. 

Williams had 23 points on nine of 18 attempts, with five rebounds, five assists and three giveaways. McBride put up 22 marks on 55% accuracy, with two rebounds, four assists, one steal and one turnover. And Collier had 21 points on 10 of 16 looks, with eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, six blocks and one turnover. 

The Liberty totaled 36 interior marks, 19 in the open court, 23 on extra tries, 15 off turnovers and 10 from the reserves.

Jones racked up 24 digits on nine of 14 attempts, with 10 boards, three dimes, one steal and two turnovers. Ionescu registered 19 points on eight of 26 ventures, with five boards, three assists, four steals and three giveaways. Stewart logged 18 points on 29% shooting, with nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two turnovers. And Fiebich had 17 points on 43.8% accuracy, with six rebounds and four assists.

Collier handled the on-court interview. When asked about her defense on Stewart, she said, “She’s one of the best players in the world. I just tried to be aggressive and make the shots as hard as possible.”

At the postgame presser, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the late comeback defines her team. “You have to be mentally tough… and we were that team. I’m thrilled we could hang in there.”

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The New York Liberty put down the back-to-back defending champions in Game 4 in Las Vegas, avenging last year’s Finals defeat, too. Sabrina Ionescu plus Jonquel Jones lit up the perimeter. Breanna Stewart scored at three levels. And the defense shut down any hope for a second-half comeback.

The Liberty’s intensity resembled that of unfed wolves early. Ionescu rattled off a dozen marks, nailing three trays and driving left into the lane for a bucket plus the foul. And Stewart scored on a big-to-big pick-and-roll set, saved a broken play by maneuvering from the top to the cup easily and registered a putback.

Yet, the Aces picked up extra opportunities and earned multiple trips to the line, offsetting their six of 19 start from the field. 

In frame two, Leonie Fiebich – New York’s connector- picked up her third foul as the group was ahead 10 points with five minutes left in the half. As she sat, the visitors were outscored 11-4 to end the period on moves from Chelsea Gray, A’ja Wilson, Alysha Clark and Kelsey Plum. The Liberty converted two of 11 baskets and committed three turnovers in that span.

At halftime, the Liberty were up 41-38. The squad had 20 paint points, none on the break, seven via second chances, three off turnovers and two from the bench. 

The Aces had 18 interior marks, four in the open court, four on spare tries, 12 off turnovers and seven from the reserves. 

Then both squads raised their defensive RPMs. For the guests, Kennedy Burke was held scoreless on three tries. Stewart missed at the arc against Clark and Wilson plus failed curling into a jumper over Plum. Ionescu got her 3-pointer denied by Wilson on a switch. And the squad had five turnovers as it recorded five of 19 baskets. 

The Aces were barely any better, connecting on a third of looks and outscoring the Liberty by one. Wilson was the solution on offense, dribbling from the wing to the rim for a layup, scoring on an inverted pick-and-roll set with Clark and making a shot under the cup on the feed from Tiffany Hayes. 

The fourth quarter started with the visitors on top, 53-51.

It was a heavyweight fight heading into the championship rounds. The Liberty’s defense maintained its edge, and their three artillery strikes were the difference.

Stewart had three blocks, two on Plum up close and the last against Wilson at mid-range. And Jackie Young and Gray were held scoreless on five attempts. 

Despite Stewart’s four misses, the offense was in sixth gear, shooting 50% to close the game. Ionescu was the four quarter’s leading scorer with seven points, coming from a give-and-go on the right side plus nailing two freebies and a left-side catch-and-shoot banger.

The Liberty won 76-62. The group picked up 30 paint points, four on the break, 14 via second chances, eight off turnovers and eight from the bench.

Ionescu totaled 22 points on 50% shooting, with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four turnovers. Stewart dropped 19 marks on eight of 21 attempts, with 14 rebounds, five assists, one steal, four blocks and two giveaways. And Jones had 14 points on 45.5% accuracy, with six rebounds and one turnover. 

The Aces logged 28 interior digits, seven in the open court, four on extra tries, 14 off turnovers and 13 from the reserves. 

Wilson put up 19 points on seven of 13 shots, with 10 boards, one dime, one steal, five blocks and a turnover. Plum tallied 17 points on 31.3% shooting, with two rebounds, one assist and two steals. And Hayes had 11 points on 37.5% shooting, with three rebounds, two assists, one block and two turnovers.

Stewart and Ionescu handled the on-court interview. The former said, “We watched the film. Game 3 was ugly… We didn’t want to play another game in New York until it’s the Finals.”

The latter said, “We haven’t done anything yet… We are three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We got to come out, and we got to punch because nothing’s been given to us yet.”

The winner of Connecticut Sun @ Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday will play New York in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday. 

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The  Las Vegas Aces’ first-quarter burst included 10 field goals scored on nine assists. Yet, Chelsea Gray’s multiple catch-and-shoot trays, drive through the center and mid-range pull-up, and Alysha Clark’s three 3-pointers only amounted to a five-point advantage, partly because of poor ball protection and getting outrebounded. The Aces’ first bad omen was Kelsey Plum picking up two fouls in fewer than two minutes. 

The hosts’ defense forced three turnovers (two via steals) that turned into four marks.  Additionally, Courtney Vandersloot woke the team up like smelling salts, supplying seven bench points. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton canned two triples. And Breanna Stewart cut through the middle of a horns set for a jumper and scored on a pick-and-roll with Jones, making a floater in the paint.

Then it got ugly for the visiting champions. The Liberty outscored them 24-13 in the second quarter. Plum was getting worked on defense and could barely buy a basket. Gray wasn’t getting separation and was slow to contest. 

On the other side, Sabrina Ionescu flared into two triples- one at the top of the key and one in the corner. And Kayla Thorton was immaculate on four tries.

The Liberty led at halftime 46-40, with a slight rebound advantage and committed three fewer turnovers. On top of that, the crew had 28 paint points, 10 on the break, seven via second chances, 20 off turnovers and 16 from the bench.

The Aces had 10 interior marks, three in the open court, 11 on extra attempts, nine off turnovers and seven from the reserves.

Subsequently, Jackie Young came out of the break downing three 3-pointers. A’ja Wilson scored in transition and used a stagger screen to curl to the left elbow for a jumper. 

Yet, the counter was Jonquel Jones, Ionescu and Vandersloot combining for six of 10 baskets. Stewart dribbled past Young on the baseline for a layup and made two freebies, too. 

The fourth quarter started with the Liberty ahead by seven. Plum was benched and played four minutes to close.

Wilson erupted, making six of the Aces’ seven field goals of the period. Three of them came against Jones. 

For the hosts, Jones splashed a tray. And Ionescu used handoffs to get down to the right and left interior thrice for baskets and hit a mid-range pull-up in Wilson’s face to take a two-point lead with 75 seconds left.

Next, the Liberty had the Aces on life support in the last 10 seconds with a four-point lead. Out of a timeout, Wilson caught in the post, didn’t look to pass and took a two-point shot when her team badly needed a three. Had one been successful, it would’ve cut the deficit to one. And in that hypothetical situation, if the Aces failed to steal the inbound, they’d likely be down three digits after the opponents’ free throws. And with a chance to tie.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon should have instructed her players on that, but didn’t until they got the ball back, with a four-point deficit and five seconds left. 

The Liberty won 88-84. The squad had 44 paint points, 12 on the break, 11 via second chances, 22 off turnovers and 21 from the bench.

Ionescu totaled 24 digits on nine of 18 looks, with nine assists, five rebounds, one steal, one block and two turnovers. Stewart added 15 points on 33.3% shooting, with seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal and three turnovers. And Jones put up 14 marks on five of eight tries, with eight rebounds, four dimes and three giveaways. 

The Aces had 24 interior marks, 10 in the open court, 18 on extra attempts, 14 off turnovers and 10 from the reserves. 

Wilson had 24 points on 11 of 18 field goals, with seven boards, four assists and one steal. Young dropped 17 points on 38.5% accuracy, with six rebounds, three dimes, two blocks and two turnovers. 

Ionescu handled the on-court interview. She said, “We were resilient the whole game. We understood how important this game was. We came out with the right mindset and continued to chip away. This win was huge for us.”

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The first changes from Game 1: Temi Fagbenle started for the Indiana Fever instead of NaLyssa Smith; Marina Mabrey was inserted for Tyasha Harris, who hurt her right ankle.

The Fever stunned the Sun early, scoring on the break. 

But like an experienced prize fighter absorbing an early flurry, the Sun regained control by giving multiple looks to Caitlin Clark on defense- DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey. On offense, Alyssa Thomas established the pace with her outlet passes and taking the rock up the court to score herself. 

Then the game’s physicality kicked up about 20 to 30° in the second quarter. Erica Wheeler undercut Carrington while going for a steal. And Clark bumped Mabrey out of bounds. 

As the period went on, Clark maneuvered around Veronica Burton in the press twice for a basket and scored with the help of Damiris Dantas’ drag screen and delivered a sweet arcing pass to Aliyah Boston cutting into the lane for a layup. Boston tallied two more baskets as well- a fadeaway on the baseline and a driving scoop around Brionna Jones.

But the hosts were sharper despite making one of six trays. Thomas collected six dimes on hit-ahead passes in transition and to the cutters in the half-court.

At halftime, the Sun led 41-34. They racked up 22 paint points, six on the break, nine via second chances, four off turnovers and 12 from the bench. 

The Fever had 18 interior marks, 11 on the break, two on extra tries, one off turnovers and two from the reserves.

Next, Clark responded. She got blitzed and kicked it to Lexie Hull for a wing triple, set up a roll for Boston, dashed by Mabrey plus Jones for a close scoop and notched a basket in transition. 

Mitchell connected on a wing 3-pointer and flicked an outlet pass to Hull on the break, giving the Fever a lead for 17 seconds.

At that point, Thomas took over the interval. She was like a ball and chain destroying a building, as defenders couldn’t contain her from pouring in baskets in the paint and downing one shot at the nail.  

The fourth quarter started with the Sun above 68-57.

The Fever pushed the pace, generating seven more field goal attempts than their hosts. Fagbenle converted four of five shots in the restricted area and wing. And the group cut the deficit to one. 

But Bonner canned a tray, bringing the deficit back to four.

The Fever subsequently made the worst mistake of the game. Fagbenle fouled Carrington, putting her on the line, where she made both. The Fever had to guard that possession, make a quick triple and likely down another after fouling the inbound if they couldn’t steal. There should have been better instruction from coach Christie Sides.

The Fever flatlined on the next possession. Needing a 3-pointer, Mitchell dribbled to the hole, missing. 

The Sun won 87-81 and will advance to round two to play the Minnesota Lynx. Despite being outrebounded by 14, the group took 14 more free throws and committed six fewer turnovers. 

Thomas had 19 points on nine of 17 looks, with 13 dimes, five rebounds, one steal and one turnover. Mabrey added 17 points on 33% accuracy, with two boards, six assists, two blocks and two turnovers. The rest of the Sun made 15 of 37 attempts.

For the Fever, Clark had 25 marks on 43.5% shooting, with six rebounds, nine assists, one steal, one block and three giveaways. Mitchell put up 17 points on seven of 18 tries, with three rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. And Boston logged 16 points on seven of 12 ventures, with 19 rebounds, three assists, one steal, two blocks and two turnovers.

At the post-game presser, Thomas said turning into a scorer was about it being Playoff time. “This is what I live for. Playoffs is what I’m waiting for all season long, and that’s my game… in that moment my team needed me to score, and that’s what I went out there and did.”

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