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BROOKLYN-The New York Liberty ensured that Barclays Center was no shelter from the rain that put a damper on any outdoor activities in the tri-state area this weekend.
Three different Liberty women sank multiple three-pointers in the opening game of the WNBA semifinals on Sunday afternoon, placing them on the path of an 87-77 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in the opening act of the sequel to last year’s WNBA Finals.
Sabrina Ionescu sank three of those triples en route to 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting overall while Breanna Stewart joined her point guard and Cappie Pondexter as the only New Yorkers with a triple decalogue in a playoff game with a game-best 34 points.
With the exception of a 3-all tie that last but 13 seconds, New York led the entire game on Sunday as they seek revenge for last year’s heartbreaking defeat in the championship round. Though the Liberty swept the trio staged in the regular season, the bookends carried asterisks in the form of injured stars Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson, the latter of whom unanimously earned the WNBA MVP award.
The Liberty threw the first punch, building a lead that reached as high as 11 in the opening period, which ended with a seven-point margin in the hosts’ favor. Though Vegas sliced the lead to as little as two in the second, Stewart kept the advantage with 20 points in the opening 20, which saw New York hit over 58 percent of its attempts from the field (Stewart alone was 8-of-10).
Losing six turnovers in the third quarter, things got dicey for the Liberty but a Ionescu run of 10 straight points to open the final frame (eight and one assists, punctuating the tally with consecutive triples) led to a Vegas timeout and Brooklyn banter that nearly drowned out the whistles.
Sunday’s opening period marked a happy return of sorts for metropolitan two-way star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who missed both the Aug. 17 win in Sin City as well as most of the fourth quarter of the last Brooklyn-based thriller. Despite not scoring, Laney-Hamilton was responsible for nine of the first 17 Liberty tallies with three assists and rebounds each.
Elsewhere in the metropolitan box score, Jonquel Jones posted yet another postseason double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) while Leonie Fiebich, the third and final woman with at least two seafoam triples, was a plus-19 in her third playoff start.
While Wilson, fresh off a record-breaking season that secured her record-tying third MVP award, did eventually muster 21 points, she was held to six rebounds, tying her season-low, Kelsey Plum did what she could with 24 on 9-of-17 but the Liberty held their guests to only two offensive boards to clean up the misfires.
With the win, the Liberty lead the best-of-five series 1-0 with Game 2 slated for Tuesday night on Atlantic Avenue (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
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