With the score tied at 77 and under 11 seconds remaining, the New York Liberty turned to Sabrina Ionescu to break the deadlock. Ionescu dribbled the clock down, took a hard dribble to her left, and launched a deep 28-footer inside the Minnesota Lynx logo. The ball splashed through the net with one second left, completing a 15-point comeback and securing an 80-77 win for the Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. New York now leads the series 2-1 and is one win away from its first-ever WNBA championship.
SABRINA STEP-BACK WINS IT FOR THE LIBERTY pic.twitter.com/UAsmAyz69U
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 17, 2024
ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHOTS IN LIBERTY FINALS HISTORY FROM SABRINA IONESCU
The Liberty takes Game 3! #WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/Whv0AMnNl9
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 17, 2024
“I’m built for this moment,” Ionescu said about her game-winning shot.
Liberty star Breanna Stewart added, “She’s worked really hard for this moment, and once she put it up, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna go in.’”
Stewart was instrumental in the comeback, scoring 22 of her game-high 30 points in the second half, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Stewart now owns two of the three 30-point, 10-rebound games in WNBA Finals history, with teammate Jonquel Jones holding the other.
Ionescu’s clutch shot is already being hailed as one of the greatest in Liberty history, drawing comparisons to Teresa Weatherspoon’s legendary half-court buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals. Weatherspoon’s shot capped off an 18-point comeback, while Ionescu’s 28-footer completed a 15-point rally, the third-largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.
During the postgame show, Weatherspoon said she will pass the torch for “biggest shot in Liberty history” to Ionescu, saying, “I’m absolutely okay with it. Just go get that thing, you’ve got one [win] to get.”
The Liberty will have a chance to win their first WNBA title in Game 4 in Minneapolis. However, the Lynx, led by Napheesa Collier—who set a postseason record with 249 points in Game 3—will aim to force a decisive Game 5 back in Brooklyn.
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