New York Liberty best Minnesota Lynx to snag a bit of revenge, 76-67
Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
Like the Commissioner’s Cup Final, the Liberty had to overcome a second-half deficit to defeat a worthy Minnesota squad. Unlike that final, they pulled it off. The key for the New York Liberty, as it’s been since the inception of their don’t-call-it-a-superteam 18 months ago, is for Jonquel Jones to play like an MVP.
After she recovered fully from off-season foot surgery in 2023, she played like an MVP post All-Star break, and the Liberty leveled up. Suddenly, Breanna Stewart didn’t have to carry the team the way she had in the seasons’ first half with her incredible scoring, and it didn’t hurt the Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s role on offense crystallized either.
This season, Jones has dominated from the start...except when her Libs have played the Minnesota Lynx. In the first matchup, Jones was beset by foul trouble and posted just four points, which was a season-low until the rematch in the Commissioner’s Cup Final, where she scored just three points.
Sandy Brondello was clear after the game that Jones impacted the game beyond scoring, was feeling under the weather, and that Minnesota’s defense deserved much credit — all undeniably true — but said before Tuesday’s home game vs. the Lynx that Jones would have to do more.
“I’m not going to make the excuses for JJ, she just didn’t have it. Sometimes great players just don’t have it. You know, they’re human too, but she will be better tonight.”
Right out of the gates, Brondello’s prediction came true, as Jones led the Liberty with 13 points and six boards in a first half that was just as tight as the Cup Final. New York’s All-Star center did receive more post-up touches as promised, but also did the dirty work, forcing her into the game through the offensive glass...
.@jus242 on her bully!! pic.twitter.com/bH7TtE378J— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 2, 2024
That helped make up for a 1-of-9 start from the floor for Breanna Stewart, who struggled with the Minnesota’s patented defensive intensity.
Though Stewart had a strong scoring performance in the Cup Final, leading her team with 24 points, she still turned the ball over five times, and was buoyed in part by her 3-point stroke. Well, she was missing threes on Tuesday night, and often struggled to take advantage of the defensive pressure...
understand this is a pet-play for Stewie but she's gotta be better about passing out of these drives given the way MIN collapses the paint...saw it in the Commissioner's Cup: pic.twitter.com/7eNY5PLiZU— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) July 2, 2024
Yet, the Liberty offense didn’t suffer too greatly in the first half, in part because they only turned it over five times (after committing 21 TOs in the Cup Final), and in part due to Stewart’s teammates. Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu attacked the paint off the dribble, while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored seven points on just four shots.
But Minnesota, as they always do, played their game. Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride reached double-digits from inside and out, respectively, while Cecilia Zandalasini once again came off the bench to be a thorn in New York’s side.
After 20 minutes of play, it was 42-42 in a game that had all the intensity of the Cup Final, even if the stakes were different. A rocking Barclays Center crowd, though, and the Liberty seeking plain revenge, made up for that.
Said Ionescu: “They’re a great team, they’re 2-0 against us, it was personal. This was a bigger game than it really was, in terms of it being a regular-season game.”
The Lynx jumped out to an early seven-point lead in the third quarter, in what looked to be a repeat of their matchup a week earlier in Long Island. New York scored just ten points in that third frame, giving up a lead that they could never regain.
But Tuesday night was different. Ionescu, fresh off winning Eastern Conference Player of the Month and battling a sickness that left her nearly voiceless, willed herself into shot attempts in the third. Some rushed and off-balance threes, but ultimately, a couple of huge drives to make it a one-possession game...
SAB WENT BACK-TO-BACK @sabrina_i20 hopped in her bag in a fight to cut Minnesota's lead pic.twitter.com/Rdj6ZcMTrT— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 3, 2024
As New York continued to crawl closer, a pivotal call went against them early in the fourth. After Jones caught the ball on the roll, down 63-61, she made a layup as Zandalasini slid under her, initially called a charge but looking like an easy reversal for an and-1 after a challenge.
But trying to delineate the block/charge call will a make a fool out of anybody, myself and Sandy Brondello included...
this JJ bucket off the roll is called a charge, now under review, and I feel like this one is pretty easy pic.twitter.com/hNEkaGwium— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) July 3, 2024
Minnesota scored on their next possession to push the lead back to four, signaling a pivotal shift of momentum with eight minutes left in regulation.
But that was it.
The Lynx did not score for the next seven minutes of game action, not until garbage-time, when the Liberty had created an eleven-point lead with the visiting bench emptied. Finally, New York hit a couple 3-pointers to finish a still-awful 7-of-32 from range, while Stewie hit four of her last seven field-goal attempts, but elite defense and rebounding truly sealed the deal.
Said Brondello. “We can be a great defensive team if we want it, It’s a commitment, and we committed to it. ... We were aggressive, we were very connected on all levels, and to keep this team to 25 points [in the second half] is a testament to our defense.”
Jonquel Jones, as she often is, was the night’s MVP, posting 21/12/4/1/1, erasing any memories of her previous performances against the Lynx. She admitted it was a point of personal pride on Tuesday, but credited her performance, and the increased space on offense she had to work with, to a matter of circumstance.
“I think that’s just what was available. They tried to congest a lot, as usual, but our guards were getting downhill as they do, creating that space, so that’s what was available in this game.”
But everybody contributed. Stewart ended shooting 5-of-20, but that doesn’t come close to capturing her impact or stat-line of 17/17/3/2/2, which undersells what felt like 5,000 deflections on defense. Ionescu’s 7-of-20 wasn’t much better, but playing 37 minutes with a nasty cold and only committing one turnover vs. Minnesota is a feat in itself. Leonie Fiebich closed over Sloot, bringing length and catch-and-shoot ability to the closing lineup, ended with 25 huge minutes.
And Betnijah Laney-Hamilton provided the game’s critical sequence, dropping a dime and coming up with a steal to push New York’s lead to three possessions with under three ticks left...
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton made a couple of game-sealing plays in this sequence, a perfect entry pass to Stewie and then a steal on the other end. Just great stuff: pic.twitter.com/l4EFNDl973— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) July 3, 2024
Her 9/5/2 stat-line won’t jump off the page, but her toughness and all-around play did to her head coach.
“Betnijah is one of the toughest players out there, you can see how hard she was competing in that fourth quarter,” said Brondello.
Now, they Liberty can enjoy a few days off, another well-earned break in the regular-season schedule, now sitting at 17-3 halfway through the year. And they can rest knowing they beat a truly great Lynx team that has affirmed themselves as worthy competitors to any Liberty fan that’s seen the three matchups. Hell, even on a night when they scored under 70 points, they ended up with 23 assists on 26 made baskets. Cheryl Reeve’s team will punish any mistake you make, and did the same on Tuesday night.
It’s just that the Liberty didn’t make many mistakes. So, they got their lick back.
had to get our lick back!! ♀️ pic.twitter.com/7bGXRZHz0E— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 3, 2024
Final Score: New York Liberty 76, Minnesota Lynx 67
Next Up
Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images
New York will play their fourth and final game against the Indiana Fever this season, a road contest after three days off. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon, from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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