Sabrina Ionescu hit a tiebreaking three-pointer from the top of the key with one second left and Breanna Stewart scored 30 points to help the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-77 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA finals.
With the game tied at 77-77, Ionescu dribbled before pulling up a few steps behind the arc and hitting from 28ft to break the tie.
“I didn’t really remember it. I had to look at the video real quickly and see how far I was,” Ionescu said. “In the timeout Sandy [Brondello] was like, ‘You’re going to shoot the shot.’ I feel like I was able to get a little separation in range. Get a really good shot to go. I let the shot clock wind down and got the space.”
The Liberty have appeared in the finals five times before, including last season, and lost each one. They are now one victory away from winning their first title.
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Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight straight points, including the first five by Jonquel Jones. Ionescu, who had a relatively quiet game, then hit another three-pointer after a Lynx miss to make it 77-73 with 55 seconds left.
Bridget Carleton got the Lynx within 77-75 with a layup 21 seconds later. On New York’s next possession Ionescu had a three-pointer go halfway through the basket before popping out and Minnesota got the rebound. Napheesa Collier was then fouled with 16 seconds left and hit both free throws to tie the game, setting up the thrilling finish.
Collier finished with 22 points and Kayla McBride 19 for Minnesota. Stewart scored 22 of New York’s 45 points in the second half.
“We don’t win this game without Stewie,” Ionescu said. “There’s nothing I can say. That shot’s nice, but what [Stewart] was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game.”
Game 4 is on Friday night in Minnesota with a deciding fifth game in New York on Sunday if necessary.