Ionescu scores 34, teams with Stewart to rally Liberty from 17 down to an 86-81 win over Dream

By Canadian Press on June 17, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu had her second consecutive 34-point game, and the New York Liberty rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to edge the Atlanta Dream 86-81 on Tuesday night.

The Liberty trailed 62-47 midway through the third quarter before taking over behind Ionescu’s 15 points and Breanna Stewart’s 11.

Stewart finished with 23 points.

The game marked the end of the Commissioner’s Cup games. Both teams entered with 3-1 records, tied with Indiana. Atlanta would have advanced to the final with a win but Indiana, which beat Connecticut 88-71, had the tiebreaker over the Liberty thanks to the Fever handing New York its first loss of the season on Saturday.

Jonquel Jones had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Liberty (10-1).

Rookie Te-Hina Paopao led the Dream (8-4) with 16 points, all in the first half. Allisha Gray added 14 points and Brionna Jones and Rhyne Howard both had 13.

Paopao hit six of seven shots, with four 3s, to help the Dream take a 43-40 lead at the break.

The Dream were hot to start the second half, hitting their first seven shots and racing to a 64-47 lead, the largest deficit of the season for New York. Then the Liberty closed on a 13-4 run to get within eight after three quarters.

The Liberty’s previous largest deficit was 16 on Saturday when they lost to Indiana.

Natasha Cloud’s three-point play with 3:56 to play tied the game at 76. The teams trade 3’s before Stewart made the go-ahead layup and added another on the next possession to make it 83-79. Both were set up by offensive rebounds.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The Associated Press

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