Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winner lifts Liberty to 2-1 WNBA Finals lead over Lynx

Everyone successful the gathering knew who was going to get the ball.

Or astatine slightest they thought they knew.

After the Minnesota Lynx built a 15-point first-half pb successful Game 3 of the WNBA Finals connected Wednesday, and aft the Liberty fought backmost with a third-quarter flurry and took their archetypal pb of the crippled successful the waning moments of the 4th quarter, Napheesa Collier made a brace of escaped throws to necktie the crippled astatine 77 with 16 seconds near connected the clock.

Liberty caput manager Sandy Bordello instantly called a timeout. Breanna Stewart — caller disconnected an All-WNBA First Team motion — had a game-high 30 points.

The shot was expected to spell to her.

It did not.

Instead, it went to Sabrina Ionescu, who spotted up from good beyond the three-point enactment and drilled a game-winning 3 to assistance the Liberty to an 80-77 triumph implicit the Lynx connected Wednesday.

Ionescu was two-for-seven from downtown and conscionable 4-for-11 from the tract earlier the cold-blooded bucket lifted New York to a win.

The Liberty person present taken a 2-1 bid pb implicit the Lynx and are 1 triumph distant from delivering the franchise the archetypal title successful its history. They volition person to grip concern connected the roadworthy successful Game 4, oregon instrumentality backmost to Barclays Center for a abrupt decease Game 5.

Yet this is what champions bash — they find a mode to triumph erstwhile decision appears imminent.

The Liberty spent three-and-a-half quarters connected a one-way bid to a 1-2 WNBA Finals deficit.

And then, it clicked.

The aboriginal turnover woes rapidly became a happening of the past.

So did the antiaircraft miscues, chiefly leaving Minnesota Lynx sharpshooter Kayla McBride unfastened clip and clip again successful the archetypal half.

The acold three-point shooting, too, became a distant memory: The Liberty got disconnected to conscionable a 4-of-15 commencement from downtown but finished Game 3 astatine a 10-of-25 clip.

Victory cures all.

And triumph it was for the Liberty, who dug an aboriginal hole, past came firing backmost successful the 3rd quarter, erstwhile they chopped a 15-point pb down to eight, past took their archetypal pb since 5-4 successful the archetypal 4th precocious successful the last period, disconnected of back-to-back baskets from Jonquel Jones.

How poetic of a night: On the precise time Stewart, Ionescu and Jones became the archetypal trio of teammates successful Liberty franchise past to gain All-WNBA Team honors successful the aforesaid season, they brought the franchise 1 measurement person to hoops immortality.

Of the six different specified trios successful WNBA history, 5 went connected to triumph a title unneurotic during their tenure arsenic teammates.

A title won’t travel easy. The Lynx won’t spell down without a fight. In fact, an wounded to Alanna Smith whitethorn beryllium to blasted for Minnesota’s second-half meltdown.

The Liberty besides cannot spend to fto McBride torch them from downtown. McBride connected connected 5 of her 9 attempts from three-point scope for 19 points successful Game 3.

Stewart finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds connected 9-of-20 shooting from the field, and Jones and Ionescu each added 13 points, nary much timely than their crunch-time heroics — archetypal Jones to springiness the Liberty a lead, past Ionescu to seal the deal.

Can the Liberty bash it again?

They volition person 2 shots astatine WNBA history, the archetypal of which volition travel connected Friday successful Minnesota. If they suffer there, they volition person an accidental to adjacent the bid retired successful beforehand of their ain location fans.