Scorching Sabrina Ionescu Moves Liberty to WNBA Semifinals

Behind a historic performance from Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty are moving on to round two.

Sep 22, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates during a timeout against the Atlanta Dream during game one of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

BROOKLYN-Thanks to a historic shooting outing from Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty dashed Atlanta's dreams of an upset.

Despite a slow start in Game 2, the Liberty downed the Atlanta Dream by a 91-82 final at Barclays Center on Tuesday night, securing the first-round win in the best-of-three series. Ionescu led the way with 36 points, tying a Liberty postseason record that Cappie Pondexter held for 14 seasons. With nine assists and three more possessions created by steals, Ionescu had a hand in 61 of New York's points.

Faced with elimination, Atlanta made it clear from the get-go that it would not go quietly into the night: after Ionescu opened things up with a triple, the Dream scored the next 11 points, as Allisha Gray took over to the tune of a 14-point first period. Atlanta led by nine after 10 minutes before the Liberty took the lead in the second, the early drive back partly headlined by successful and-one opportunities for Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton off feeds from Ionescu.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

The Dream, however, won the second half of the period by a 12-3 final, the run capped off by Tina Charles' pull-up with just about three seconds remaining. A threatening trip to Atlanta for a Game3 decider became a dangerous reality in the second half, the possibility punctuated by a statement run for Rhyne Howard.

When Breanna Stewart threatened to score unopposed off a Ionescu interception of a Jordin Canada pass, Howard raced back and offered a raucous rejection of the 2023 MVP. Howard then hit a jumper on the other end before countering another Stewart miss with a triple, putting Atlanta up 55-47 with just over three minutes gone by.

From there, however, Ionescu began to push the Liberty forward towards the second round: all but three of the Liberty's next 16 points ... the first eight of which were scored in succession ... had some form of Ionescu involvement and it helped the Liberty build a one-point lead heading into the final period. Earning 12 more points to finish things out, Ionescu made her history and adjusted the bracket, shattering her previous postseason-best of 29 earned in last year's opener against Washington.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

In addition to Ionescu's heroics, Jones posted a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double while Stewart had 13 with six rebounds. New York has also advanced at least one playoff round in consecutive seasons for the first time since a four-year streak between 1999 and 2002.

Thus ends a rollercoaster season the eighth-seeded Dream, who reached the playoffs after defeating the Liberty on the final day of the regular season last Thursday. The season was headlined by the return of Charles, the Liberty's all-time leading scorer who became the WNBA's historic champion in both rebounds and double-doubles.

Charles ended her year with 14 points and six rebounds while Gray and Howard had 26 and 19 respectively on a combined 18-of-31 from the field. Atlanta, coached by another former New Yorker in Tanisha Wright, fell in the first round for the second consecutive season despite shooting 53.8 percent from the field, the best success rate in a WNBA playoff loss since the Chicago Sky in 2015.

With the win, the Liberty will now go for vengeance in the second round: a WNBA Finals rematch against the Las Vegas Aces awaits, one that comes just under a year after Sin City took Brooklyn down en route to consecutive championships.

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