After winning Game 1, the Liberty has his first match point at home against Dream. And there are some great people at the Barclays Center since the triple Olympic sprint champion Gabby Thomas is in the stands, as are Pharrell Williams, Ja Rule, Whoopi Goldberg and the inevitable Spike Lee…
The latter will also slap the hand of Sabrina Ionescu in full action, in the third quarter!
New York in the veins
“I felt like New York was being injected into my veins. I thought, 'We're going to win,'” the player has funbrilliant with 36 points at 12/23 shooting, including 5/11 from afar, and 9 assists.
While Allisha Gray and the Dream, forced to impose themselves to stay alive in these playoffs, had gotten off to the best start, it was Sabrina Ionescu who revived New York in the second quarter. Forced to press Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart under the rim while the 3-pointers were not falling in, the Liberty was still neck and neck with its opponent in the middle of the fourth quarter (73-72).
Except that New York will finally make the gap, thanks to the impact of Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich. The heroine of Game 1 thus scores a 2+1 followed by a 3-pointer which definitively swings the match in favor of the Liberty.
Sabrina Ionesu involved in 55 of her team's 91 points
The Dream does not have the weapons to turn the match around and therefore stops (91-82) in the first round of the playoffs, while the Liberty returns to the semi-finals… and the Aces, for a remake of last season's Finals.
With her 36 points, Sabrina Ionescu also equals the franchise's playoff points record, tied with Cappie Pondexter. She was involved in 55 of her team's 91 points, in points and assists. Only Alyssa Thomas (58 points) did better last year, during a playoff game to end a series.
“It was incredible” Breanna Stewart could only observe. “The way Sab was aggressive from start to finish. She saw some shots go in. And when she’s aggressive like that, it opens things up for everybody.”
And that allows Liberty to hope to win this title, which the franchise is still chasing…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers attempted; LF = Free throws made / Free throws attempted; O = Offensive rebound; D = Defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose balls; Ct: Blocks; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the court; Pts = Points; Eval: Player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
