The Liberty’s hopes of winning on back-to-back nights went up in smoke Friday.
Led by 26 points from Kayla McBride, the Lynx brought unrelenting force and pressure into Barclays Center to defeat the Liberty, 88-83, in a game that was originally scheduled for June 7 but was postponed due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that coated New York City and the Northeast.
The Lynx, playing without star Napheesa Collier, who sat out with a sprained ankle, attacked the basket constantly, off the dribble, on pick-and-roll actions or through backdoor cuts.
They knew what they wanted to do coming into the game and were rewarded with 40 points in the paint throughout the night.
“They did whatever they wanted to do offensively and defensively,” said Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who led all scorers with 31 points. “They were able to get into actions, they moved the ball well, they hit shots and it was contagious. When a couple players start knocking down shots, the rim feels pretty big when the ball’s going in and we weren’t able to adjust.
“We’ve had many games where we were able to come back from this, but tonight was another example where, if we don’t come from the start and bring our A-game, we’re gonna get beat.”
Coming off a win over the Atlanta Dream the night before, the Liberty (18-6), who were playing their fourth game in six days, raced out to a 15-5 lead barely four minutes into the first quarter.
By the end of the quarter, however, the Lynx had flipped the switch with a 17-2 run of their own.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello had no answer for it.
“Yeah we started off really well. And then we got a little complacent,” Brondello said. “They made some changes with their post players and they got more aggressive, they started making shots and it just dried up for us. I think a little fatigue set in. I think you saw that. When you have back-to-back it’s the first quarter [where] you’re gonna struggle a little bit. But yeah, 17-2, that’s tough.”
The Liberty entered the second quarter down 22-17, but Ionescu was aggressive and scored 13 points in the quarter with tough shot-making off both the catch and the bounce.
But the Lynx continued to pummel the paint, scoring 26 points in the second quarter and grabbing a lead they did not relinquish.
Diamond Miller and McBride had 13 points each by the end of the first half.
Miller finished with 22 points and McBride went 11-for-14 from the field for her team-high 26.
Minnesota was equally dominant on defense, forcing the Liberty into tough shots and constantly sending two defenders at the home team’s stars.
By halftime, the Lynx had a sizable 48-39 lead.
In the third quarter, Minnesota continually carved up the Liberty defense to get easy looks inside the paint and around the basket.
That started with Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz and her physicality down low throughout the night.
Juhasz ended the contest with a 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Liberty continued to be forced into contested jumpers in the third and could not get the good looks off the ball movement they are known for.
By the end of the third, the Lynx held a 70-58 lead, but the Liberty finally came back to life in the fourth, getting consistent stops, keeping the Lynx out of the paint and forcing them to take contested jumpers.
Those stops led to fast-break opportunities, and 3-point queen Ionescu knocked down back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 77-74 with 3:28 left.
A possession later, forward Breanna Stewart, who finished with 23 points, got sent to the line and knocked down two crucial free throws to cut the lead to one.
But Miller hit a 3-pointer, McBride followed with a layup and from that point on it was a march to the free-throw line for both teams.
It was too little, too late for the Liberty, who lost a game that Stewart said she felt they should have won.
“This one sucked, and it was tough to lose at home,” Stewart said. “I’m happy with the way we fought, especially at the end, but it didn’t have to be like this, that’s how I feel.”