Fun With the Sun: Liberty Rally From 20 Down in Battle of MVP Contenders
UNCASVILLE-In the New England area where Johnny Most made his most famous call about a John Havlicek takeaway, she stole in the ball. Courtney Vandersloot stole the ball.
Vandersloot's robbery toward the end of regulation was the capper of a thrilling comeback for the New York Liberty, who rallied from 20 points down to likewise steal a 95-90 decision from the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. The veteran's steal of a DeWanna Bonner inbounds pass with the Liberty down two in the dying stages of regulation, intended for Alyssa Thomas went directly to Sabrina Ionescu, who was fouled on a desperation triple in the penultimate second.
Ionescu hit two of the three free throws that sprang from impeded heave, setting up an overtime period that the Liberty took by a 13-8 margin. The victory allowed New York (26-7) to not only tie the franchise record in terms of a successful comeback (earned on three prior occasions) but it also now owns a 3.5-game lead on Connecticut for second place on the WNBA leaderboard.
Thursday's game was billed as a battle of MVP favorites: New York's Breanna Stewart and Connecticut's Thomas each needed a solid showing after Las Vegas rival A'ja Wilson's 53-point showcase against Atlanta. Both lived up to their respective hypes: Thomas, on a night where the first Mohegan entrants received a bobblehead in her likeness, had 22 points and 12 assists while Stewart barely bested her with 24 tallies and 12 rebounds. Stewart has now tallied 753 points this season, setting not only a career-best but a new Liberty record.
Elsewhere on the New York ledger, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu united to score 31 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, the former also hauling in 14 rebounds for yet another double-double.
In the end, however, the Thursday night showdown between the second and third-best teams in the WNBA will be best remembered for its wild finish, one that left a majority of a sellout Connecticut crowd speechless. Vandersloot, who simply claimed to be "in the right place at the right time," put in postings in nearly every major box score category, picking up 13 points and eight assists.
Thomas' fiancé Bonner led Connecticut with 30 points, also picking up 12 rebounds in defeat. The Sun (23-11) will have one more chance to avoid a four-game season sweep at the hands of the Liberty when they visit Brooklyn on Sept. 1.
The Liberty will play the final leg of a spaced six-game road trip on Saturday night when they wrap a three-game series with the Minnesota Lynx (8 p.m. ET, YES).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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