Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu Shares Iconic Spike Lee Moment

Sabrina Ionescu's scorching start ... and perhaps some magic from Spike Lee ... helped the New York Liberty move two steps closer to an elusive title.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

BROOKLYN -- The New York Liberty ensured that the 25th hour came for the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.

In front of a crowd of 11,003 that included Brooklyn-raised director Spike Lee, the Liberty had game and continued the summer of Sab: point guard Sabrina Ionescu tied the Liberty's single-game franchise playoff record with 36 points, obtaining it on 12-of-23 shooting en route to a 91-82 triumph over Atlanta. The win places New York in the second round of the three-pronged WNBA playoffs, where they'll face a 2023 Finals rematch against the Las Vegas Aces.

The former Oregon Duck is off to a high-flying start this postseason: while Ionescu struggled in the final throes of the WNBA regular season (14 points a game on just over 31 percent shooting), she averaged 26.5 (most among those who have partaken in at least two playoff games entering Wednesday) on 50 in the clean sweep of Atlanta. With nine assists and three more possessions via steals, Ionescu wound up having a literal hand in 61 of New York's 92 points on Tuesday.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"Honestly, it's just doing whatever it takes to win, understanding I'm capable of scoring, but knowing that getting my teammates open and good looks is a huge part of what I do," Ionescu said of her epic evening. "think just continuing to take what the defense gives me while also just being assertive, shooting the ball with confidence and continuing to get downhill and drive to and kick will be big as we move forward."

As she addressed reporters in the aftermath, Ionescu credited Lee, a sideline staple for New York Knicks games at Madison Square Garden, with a special assist.

"Spike Lee gave me a high five as I was going to take the ball out of bounds, and I felt like New York was just injected into me," Ionescu recalled. "At that moment, I was like, we're winning this. It was just injected, like it just flew all the way through."

The fateful handshake was said to have come in the second half, which saw the Liberty fall behind by eight just before four minutes ticked by. Ionescu then went on to have a role in all but three of the next 16 Liberty points which built a slim-yet-sustainable one-point lead before she offered one last nightmare for the Dream with a dozen-point fourth.

Ionescu was a generous magician as she departed the podium, shaking hands with almost every recurring reporter from the Liberty beat in an attempt to give them "some Spike Lee." The decorated director was one of several notable names who stopped by to view the Liberty's advancement: American Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, actress Whoopi Goldberg, and musician Pharrell were likewise occupying courtside seating while Queens-born rapper Ja Rule performed at halftime.

When it comes to adjusting her game for the professional level, the top pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft is doing the right thing: well-regarded for her three-point prowess, Ionescu has made other areas of the floor equally dangerous: through two games, 29.4 percent of her attempts have come from within 3-10 feet of the basket. Over her first three postseason showings (14 games), Ionescu tried but 18.6 percent from that same distance.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"When you put the ball in her hands, we want to get her going. She's a great shooter. I know she hasn't been shooting as well these last few weeks, but she's still a great shooter," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. "We've been working on how we help her; putting the ball in her hands is one way, her becoming a screener is another way. But when she sees the ball go through the hole, that's all you need as a shooter ... Her being aggressive is good for us. It's not about her scoring, though. It's about everything else, just the impact she has at both ends of the court."

"I think Sab is somebody who you can tell has put in work in terms of getting better," Dream head coach and former New Yorker Tanisha Wright added. "She's done an amazing job of not just focusing on taking threes, trying to build a different package, being somebody who's a three-level scorer at the rim, mid-range, as well as behind the arc ... Kudos to her for putting in that work and understanding this is the best league in the world. You've got to stay hungry in this league, and you've got to continue to add and you've got to continue to get better, and she's done that."

Ionescu's next chance to light the Liberty's torch lands on Sunday, when Game 1 against the Aces tips off at a time to be determined.

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