The New York Liberty narrowly secured an 85-81 win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night at Barclays Center, almost letting a commanding 28-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter.
Leading by as much as 69-41 with under 10 minutes remaining, the Liberty experienced a dramatic downturn as the Sparks mounted a furious comeback. Los Angeles surged with 21 unanswered points, closing the deficit to seven. The Sparks continued their charge, getting within one point with just 21.7 seconds left on the clock. However, the Liberty managed to hold on, preventing what would have been one of the largest comebacks in WNBA history.
"We just kind of were on our heels a little bit," Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said. "Basketball is a game of runs. Theirs came really late and I’m glad the way that we were able to kind of weather the storm and continue to chip away, find a way to win."
The Liberty had appeared poised for a redemption win following a decisive loss two days prior. For the first three quarters, New York played strong defense, holding the Sparks to only 41 points and entering the final period with a 26-point advantage. "That was the best I felt, we felt collectively, as a team defensively," said Rebecca Allen.
Despite their strong performance through three quarters, the Liberty faltered in the fourth. The Sparks, who had lost eight of their last ten games and were without former star guard Kelsey Plum following a trade, refused to concede. Their 21-0 run in the fourth quarter, which spanned less than three minutes, brought them back into contention.
Ionescu ended the Liberty's scoring drought with a crucial basket, but the Sparks continued to press. In the final minutes, a challenged foul on Marine Johannès by Liberty coach Chris DeMarco proved unsuccessful, costing the team their final timeout. DeMarco stated he believed the challenge was warranted, as the team felt Johannès was hit in the face rather than committing a foul.
The Sparks made it a three-point game on three separate occasions in the final four minutes. Dearica Hamby’s layup cut the lead to 82-79 with under a minute remaining. Following a Liberty turnover and a Sparks timeout, Rae Burrell hit a layup with 21.7 seconds left to make it 82-81.
Ionescu then sealed the victory by making two free throws, extending the lead back to three points.
"It was funky," DeMarco commented on the fourth quarter. "We started playing on our heels a little bit, basically coming into offense — not really running our stuff, sort of just moving the ball around, maybe some quick shots." The Sparks outscored New York 40-18 in the final period.
While the Liberty secured the win, the near-collapse raised concerns about their ability to close out games. "We let go of the rope a little bit," DeMarco admitted. "We have to put together 40-minute games."