The New York Liberty finished with a win against the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, something they couldn’t do in Game 1.
New York started the game hot before the record crowd of 18,000, with Sabrina Ionescu proving her resilience. After an inefficient outing in Game 1, Ionescu scored on her first two shot attempts, grabbing the first five points of the game. Her hot start supercharged the massive home crowd to get behind the team in a loud and purposeful way.
Teammates Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton found ways early and often to push New York to a 31-21 halftime lead. Despite Liberty’s Oct. 10 Game 1 meltdown, they are 28-1 in games when they led at halftime and were determined to prove Game 1 an outlier. With a limited number of fouls and free throws taken in the first half, play between the two teams flowed consistently. Ionescu closed out the first half with 12 points on 5 for 7 shooting. Stewart went 5 for 9, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed only one shot in the first half, going 5 for 6. Shooting efficiency, for the win.
For Minnesota, being down 10 points at halftime didn’t mean they were out of the game or that they didn’t play well in the first half. For Game 2, Ionescu somehow snuck her slow-start sneakers into the Minnesota Lynx locker room and onto Napheesa Collier, who only had only made three field goal attempts in the first half. Teammate Alanna Smith added much-needed scoring for the Lynx, going 4-5 from the field while sharpshooting Lynx guard Kayla McBride. The Lynx rely on McBride for scoring production and efficiency, but she was only able to contribute five points on 2 for 5 shooting.
Coming out of halftime, the New York Liberty looked like they hadn’t learned their lesson from Game 1, allowing the Minnesota Lynx to narrow the lead with some early baskets, but scoring in the third quarter by either team was low, slow and did little to tilt the game in favor of one or the other. Unfortunately for the Lynx, their fourth-quarter scoring was worse than the third quarter, and without the scoring efficiency they're used to or the three-pointers, they couldn’t rally a comeback as they did in Game 1. Without McBride’s consistent scoring, and an off night from Collier, the Lynx couldn’t compete.
For the New York Liberty, Laney-Hamilton managed to keep her hot hand going into the second half and ended the game with a playoff career-high 20 points. Laney-Hamilton entered the game averaging just 5.9 points per game during the playoffs. Late in the fourth quarter off a Lynx turnover, Liberty rookie Leonie Fiebich knocked down a transition three that all but put the game on ice. Breanna Stewart finished Game 2 with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. “Stewie” continues to have room for improvement shooting from the field but the above 50% shooting from Ionescu and Laney-Hamilton powered the team’s field goal percentage to a winning 47.5%.
With the series tied 1-1 heading to Minnesota for Game 3, both teams will look to make the adjustments that put their players in the best positions to succeed. At this point in the season, there isn’t much either coach hasn’t communicated about the game of basketball to their players. Game 3 will come down to which team can best spread the burden of scoring as efficiently as possible.
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Mark Patton is an owner of too many sneakers, a passionate and persistent advocate for public school students experiencing homelessness and a big sports fan with immaculate taste in Hip-hop music.
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