MINNEAPOLIS — The Liberty and Lynx sure know how to deliver cinema. Every time these rivals square off, the stakes feel higher, and Saturday’s matinee was no different.
They exchanged baskets and went on runs. Blood was drawn. Technical fouls were handed out.
The Liberty, led by Sabrina Ionescu, mounted a thrilling third-quarter comeback, but they couldn’t fend off the Lynx, who won 90-85.
The Lynx looked well in control of Saturday’s game near the midway point of the third quarter. They led by 15 and had their home crowd buzzing. It looked like they were going to sail to a comfortable win against the short-handed Liberty.
Ionescu, however, had other plans. She scored 19 points in the third quarter to help the Liberty rally from a 15-point deficit.
In the fourth quarter, tensions spiked. Han Xu was called for a technical foul for bouncing the ball in frustration a little too hard. Coach Chris DeMarco got one for barking at the refs.
The game stayed within single digits the entire fourth. But Kayla McBride owned the final 10 minutes. She drained the free throw for DeMarco’s technical, then a 3 to give the Lynx a six-point lead.
“Our house” chants started during a stoppage.
Later in the fourth, Jones drained a 3 with under 40 seconds left to trim the Lynx’s lead to three. Ultimately, Marine Johannès’ foul sent Olivia Miles to the free throw line to pad the Minnesota advantage.
McBride scored 14 of her 25 points in the fourth. Miles finished with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. The game ended with the Lynx doing the electric slide as the Liberty players headed to the locker room.
Day games disrupt everything. Player routines change, which perhaps caused the slow start from both teams in the matinee.
Ionescu didn’t have it to start. She missed her first five shots, despite generating some good looks. She didn’t make a shot from the field until 1:57 remaining in the second quarter.
She shook off the rust and looked like the dominant scorer fans have grown to love. Too often, Breanna Stewart has put on her superhero cape to save the Liberty. But this time, her trusty sidekick did the honors.
Ionescu scored 19 of her 25 points in the third quarter, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. She joined Marina Mabrey as the only two players to score that many points in a quarter this season.
Ionescu was instrumental in the Liberty’s rally from a 15-point deficit with less than five minutes left in the third. The game’s momentum flipped in favor of the Liberty. Ionescu kept scoring and Johannès hit a pair of timely 3s.
New York went on a 21-5 run to close the quarter and take a one-point lead.
The game was neck and neck the rest of the way, but the Lynx took this round.
