New York Liberty bounce back with 81-75 win over Atlanta Dream
Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
It wasn’t the prettiest game, and it won’t totally erase the sting of losing the Commissioner’s Cup Final, but the Liberty forced Atlanta into 18 turnovers, stealing a victory at the Barclays Center One week before Sunday, the New York Liberty rolled into Atlanta and curb-stomped the Dream, making light work of Tanisha Wright’s squad as a tune-up for the Commissioner’s Cup Final that would be played two days later. Rookie Marquesha Davis doubled her career point total in that one, and then some.
In the week since, the New York Liberty lost a grueling Cup Final, which featured the return of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton from a knee injury that cost her three games, and Courtney Vandersloot, returning to action after missing nine games due to the death of her mother.
The five days since the Cup final have offered the Libs a real chance to breathe after a 15-3 start and Cup loss, a month-and-a-half that featured 19 games, injuries, breakouts, big minutes for key players, and little time to rest.
The Dream, meanwhile, fell to a worse-than-it-sounds 6-9 after that loss to New York, but followed up their mini-break with a joyous win over the second-place Connecticut Sun.
As such, the first half of this Sundays’s contest followed a predictable script. The Liberty came out flat in one of their worst first quarters of the season; nobody could make a shot, and then the ball movement slowed. Each starter wasn’t just trying to get theirs, but trying to jump-start the team; not selfish offense, but pointless offense.
The Dream took advantage, winning the period 24-13. Reserve guard Maya Caldwell scored eight quick points, and Liberty legend Tina Charles started her 16-point, 12-rebound night with a bang. It was the sort of inside-outside attack you’d expect from the Libs, one we’ve seen from Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones all season long, particularly in quite a few dominant first quarters.
But the W’s most effective pick-and-roll partnership didn’t produce much Sunday. As in the Cup Final, Jones was often an afterthought in New York’s offense, and would put up just five points and four rebounds.
Head Coach Sandy Brondello said, “JJ was a little bit under the weather, so I give her a little grace in that regard ... Sometimes players are like, ‘okay, things are not going well, for me, I’m not scoring,’ but there’s more than scoring. And I think JJ helped us be successful by setting screens and rolling ... playing in the right way. That’s always critical. It’s not about how many shots they take for me.”
Ionescu didn’t play to her standards either, but not for lack of trying. She played 32 minutes, shooting 3-of-17 to score ten points to go with four assists. It was just one of those nights for the All-Star guard, rimming out on a couple 3-pointers, Dream defenders getting the best of her on a couple individual matchups.
The first half, then, became about damage control for the Libs, minimizing the pain of their slow start. And thanks to their defense, they did just that. Seven turnovers for the Dream led to ten Liberty points in the first half, as Breanna Stewart, Laney-Hamilton, and Vandersloot brought New York to within five at the half...
"Queen B, want no smoke wit me" AND DON'T @BetnijahLaney from DT pic.twitter.com/F6mT7SXde6— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 30, 2024
Those three continued their scoring output past the break, carrying over a 25-to-4 run that spanned the second and third quarters.
Sloot played 21 of the first 30 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter — we’ll get to that — and turned in a fairly vintage performance: seven points, seven assists, no turnovers. That earned her at least one admirer, in her back-court partner, Ionescu: “It’s nice to see her back out there, especially as she’s getting her feet back under her and us continuing to find ways to utilize her like we did before ... it’s been so fun watching how she’s kind of come back and hasn’t really missed a beat.”
Breanna Stewart would finish as the team’s leading scorer with 22/12/3/2/1, playing another 37 minutes but needing just about all of them to lead New York to a win. She also became the fastest player in W history to 5,000 points, a feat that she and her head coach celebrated post-game.
Sandy Brondello made sure to note that Breanna Stewart became the fastest player to reach 5,000 points in WNBA history today. She asked Stewie how many more she needed to catch Diana Taurasi, and Breanna said, "A lot."— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) June 30, 2024
Atlanta, led by Allisha Gray’s 24 points including 15 after the break, wouldn’t quite go away though. New York’s wings needed to come through in the fourth quarter, and they did just that. No, not Kayla Thornton, who played just ten minutes (her fewest since May 25), but Laney-Hamilton and Leonie Fiebich closed the Dream out with ball pressure on one end, and 3-point shooting on the other.
Laney-Hamilton shot 4-of-6 from range to finish as New York’s second-leading scorer with 18, aided by the return of Vandersloot. The point God didn’t just get Laney-Hamilton the ball directly, but Sloot’s presence eases Laney-Hamilton’s burden on the offensive end just a tad, pushing her away from ball-handler to play-finisher, where she excels.
So too does Fiebich, who shot 5-of-9 and terrorized the Dream with her length and activity on defense, leading to three steals...
Leonie Fiebich bullies the Dream in a very funny four-point sequence: pic.twitter.com/zmsrDKm1Ih— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) June 30, 2024
As usual, Fiebich credited her teammates for her performance: “It helps to have support behind you, because if you go, and you don’t get the ball, you’re screwed. It just helps to have my teammates behind me but also, I felt like there was a doubt in their eyes when they’re trying to pass it, so that’s always something as a defender, you just go for it. If you see that in their eyes, you just go for a steal and hope you get the ball.”
The Liberty often went for those steals on Sunday afternoon, and they often got ‘em. Atlanta shot more efficiently from two, from three, from the stripe, but it didn’t matter, not with an 18-to-7 turnover disparity. As such, it wasn’t a pretty win for New York, but they were still the better team. Even Jones and Ionescu stepped up to make game-sealing threes in the fourth quarter...
Sabrina Ionescu was 2-of-15, 1-of-9 from three before this possession pic.twitter.com/c5xOLMzNnF— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) June 30, 2024
“We had to dig deep, we had to get back to playing as hard as we can and playing in the right way,” said Brondello of the win. “We didn’t make many shots in that first half — we got some open ones — but we just had to keep moving the ball and make the high percentage ones, and they started to drop when we needed them.”
The Dream have really helped the Liberty out over the last week. New York’s added two Ws to the win column, even as Tina Charles put on a bit of a show for the many fans she still has in New York, while the Dream were still able to beat Connecticut. As a result, the Libs are now 16-3 in regular-season play and a game-and-a-half up on Connecticut for the league’s best record.
Losing in the Commissioner’s Cup Final is a sting that isn’t washed away so easily, but New York could certainly be doing a worse job of trying.
Final Score: New York Liberty 81, Atlanta Dream 75
Next Up
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
A rematch already?
The New York Liberty will seek to enact revenge on the Minnesota Lynx for their Cup Final loss in their next game, and yes, this home game will actually be at the Barclays Center. Tip-off is s -cheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Box Score: New York Liberty 81, Atlanta Dream 75 - WNBA
Game Highlights: New York Liberty 81, Atlanta Dream 75 (Video) - WNBA
Breanna Stewart scores her 5,000th point in 81-75 Liberty win over Dream - Doug Feinberg - AP
Breanna Stewart makes WNBA history in carrying sluggish Liberty to win over Dream - Bridget Reilly - New York Post
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