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NEW YORK — Nearly two hours before the New York Liberty officially began their 2024 WNBA Playoff campaign on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Dream, Sabrina Ionescu was on the court at Barclays Center getting some shots up. And she wasn’t missing.
Ionescu appeared relaxed, smiling and joking with her coaches and the media while she got loose. No one could have guessed she was coming off a stretch in which she was seven for her last 37 from the field, spanning the last week of the regular season.
I’m sure she’s missed since she came out but I haven’t seen it pic.twitter.com/vrGGbgpjXI
— Russell Steinberg (@Russ_Steinberg) September 22, 2024
Sunday afternoon, she played much better, scoring 17 points on 5-11 shooting with five assists.
But that was just an appetizer for Game 2 on Tuesday, when she tied a Liberty franchise record for points in a playoff game with 36. Down the stretch in the Liberty's 91-82 win, each of her buckets sent fans into a frenzy. She even earned an in-game high-five from Spike Lee, who sat courtside. The win sends the Liberty into the semifinals for the second straight year.
What a difference a week makes.
“It’s part of her journey of maturing as a player and as a human being,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of Ionescu’s shift. “She knows what she needs to do, the impact that she has on the team, the trust that she has from all of her teammates.”
The Liberty fell behind early on Tuesday as the Dream came out fighting for their playoff lives. New York, however, stormed back in the second half behind a brilliant offensive performance that answered every run Atlanta made.
Ionescu left her mark all over that comeback, scoring 23 points in the second half.
The biggest difference between what she showed in the final 20 minutes on Tuesday compared to her lackluster end of the season was that she didn’t settle. Ionescu was 2-12 from three against the Minnesota Lynx on September 15 in the first game of that horrid regular-season-ending stretch. In the month prior, she had games where she shot 1-9, 3-14, 2-12, and 3-10 twice.
“My focus was to get downhill,” Ionescu said of her prolific Game 2. “End of second quarter we got a little three-point happy and we were shooting shots that normally go in, but weren’t. And there was a point where we kept getting stops and weren’t scoring…that was the point where I was like ‘I’ve got to get into the paint.’”
As a point guard, Ionescu can be stubborn. She knows she’s a great shooter and when her shots aren’t falling — either from three or in the mid-range — she can sometimes double down, forcing the issue until she can will the ball into the basket.
She didn’t do that on Tuesday. Instead, she talked about taking what the defense gave her, which in this case, was a path to the basket.
“I trust myself. I put the work in to prepare the best that I can every single night,” Ionescu said. “The Playoffs is a new season. You have to focus all your energy into just being your best for one game at a time.”
The Liberty have a true excess of superstars
Ionescu’s outburst — a playoff career high in scoring, just one point off her overall career high —came two days after Leonie Fiebich had an almost perfect afternoon in Game 1. The rookie finished with 21 points on 7-8 shooting. In the final regular season games, Breanna Stewart led the way. Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton have both had leading scorer honors as well over the course of the season.
The wealth of talent has made the Liberty almost impossible to scout. Anyone in their starting lineup is capable of scoring 20 (or 30) in a given night.
“It’s our strength in numbers,” Stewart said. “We’ve gotten to the point where we’re trying to do whatever we can to win. It doesn't matter if [Jones] is having all the assists and Leo is having all the points, or whatever the case may be. Whatever needs to be done on the court, that's what we're going to do.”
It’s a selfless attitude that has served the Liberty well through a 32-8 regular season and a first-round sweep. Stewart, however, took the opportunity to express some jealousy on a night where Pharrell, Gabby Thomas, and Whoopi Goldberg were courtside and Ionescu got to celebrate with Spike Lee.
“Oh my God, I hope I see him in Crown,” she said, referring to the Barclays Center Crown Club. She then looked at the assembled media. “You guys are holding me up, maybe they’re going to leave.”
Stewart took a few more questions before leaving, eager to celebrate this win before the work begins again on Wednesday.
