Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu have double-doubles, Liberty snap streak of losses to Lynx 85-75
Jonquel Jones had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and 11 assists, and the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 85-75 on Tuesday night, after losing the first three meetings between the teams this season.
Both teams were without a star player — Minnesota's Napheesa Collier missed her fifth game with a right ankle sprain, and the Liberty's Breanna Stewart is still sidelined with a bone bruise in her knee.
Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman picked up the mantle for Minnesota (28-6), scoring 17 points and 16 points, respectively. Jessica Shepard had 10 rebounds.
New York (22-13) opened a 12-point lead in the first quarter. By the time Ionescu hit a 3-pointer to end the first half, they were still ahead by 11 points.
A series of Lynx steals and Hiedeman 3-pointers shrunk New York's lead to 66-60 heading into the final quarter, and New York's advantage thinned to four as time wound down.
But another long-range 3-pointer from Ionescu widened the lead to seven in the final minutes — to the celebration of a packed Barclays Center — and a final layup from Kennedy Burke sealed the deal.