Sabrina Ionescu scored 12 of her 20 points in a chaotic fourth quarter as the host New York Liberty held on to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks, 85-81, on Thursday night.
New York built a 28-point lead and withstood a 21-0 Sparks run in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles got as close as one point with 22 seconds remaining.
But Ionescu made two free throws, and Ariel Atkins missed a 3-pointer on the other end. Ionescu then made one more free throw to ice the game.
New York (21-14) is 8-2 over its past 10 games. The Liberty have also won five straight home games.
Besides Ionescu, Jonquel Jones had a big game for the Liberty with 11 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and four assists.
The Sparks (12-21) have lost 10 of their past 12 games. Rae Burrell led the Sparks with a game-high 28 points, including 10-of-19 shooting overall and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers.
New York got off to a slow start, missing six of its first seven shots as Los Angeles took a 6-2 lead. But Breanna Stewart scored the game’s next six points, and, by the end of the first quarter, the Liberty led 21-16. Stewart finished the game with 11 points.
The Liberty extended their lead to 16 points midway through the second quarter. By halftime, New York led 49-32.
Jones led New York in the first half with 10 points and 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Eight of her points came on put-backs. As a team, the Liberty had first-half advantages in paint points (32-12); fast-break points (12-2); rebounds (25-14); and points off turnovers (12-5).
In the third quarter, New York stretched its lead to 67-41. Los Angeles scored just nine points in the third, making it New York’s best defensive quarter of the season.
Early in the fourth, Sparks standouts Cameron Brink and Burrell crashed heads. Both of them hit the deck, but they remained in the game. In fact, they both hit 3-pointers after the collision, and that sparked Los Angeles to its 21-0 run.
Brink then left the game with 6:00 remaining as Stewart charged into her for an offensive foul. Brink did not return.
–Field Level Media
