Sky Deny Liberty Upset in WNBA Playoffs' Return to New York

The New York Liberty's valiant comeback effort fell just short on Tuesday night.

The sky's the limit for the New York Liberty. Alas for the valiant New Yorkers, that phrase became too literal for comfort on Tuesday night.

A season of resilience and defying the odds came to an end on Tuesday night, as the defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky prevailed in a 90-72 final in the decisive game of a best-of-three playoff series, taking the set two games to one. All five Chicago starters (as well as Azura Stevens off the bench) reached double figures, with Candace Parker (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Courtney Vandersloot (14 points, 10 assists) each earning double-doubles. 

Chicago will now move on to the semifinal round of the eight-team WNBA playoffs, where they'll face the winner of Wednesday's do-or-die game between Connecticut and Dallas (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Sky is looking to become the WNBA team to earn consecutive titles since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02. 

Tuesday's showing was the Liberty's first playoff game at home since 2017 and their first as full-time tenants at Barclays Center. Betnijah Laney paced the team with 15 points in defeat while Natasha Howard (14 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double. The Liberty previously forced a return to Brooklyn via a 98-91 win in Game 1 in Chicago last Wednesday but the Sky struck back with a 100-62 blowout over the weekend.

Chicago led for most of the contest but the Liberty managed to whittle the lead to as little as three in the fourth quarter, energizing a sellout crowd of 7,837. But the Sky flexed their championship might to the tune of a 16-0 run that earned their advancement. 

Stay tuned for Liberty wrap-up coverage on AllKnicks

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags