The Liberty managed to avoid a potentially historic collapse on Thursday night, edging out the Sparks with an 85-81 victory at Barclays Center.
The home team led comfortably with a 28-point margin (69-41) with just under ten minutes left in the fourth quarter and seemed to be in control.
But then things took a turn.
Los Angeles, refusing to back down, scored 21 consecutive points, slicing the lead down to just seven. They even came within a single point with 21.7 seconds remaining, but the Liberty held on tight to prevent what could have been the biggest comeback in WNBA history.
“We kind of found ourselves on the back foot,” Sabrina Ionescu reflected. “Basketball is all about runs, and they had a good one. They were slow to score earlier, so I’m just glad we managed to weather that storm and figured out how to win.”
Having suffered a tough loss against Indiana just two days prior, the Liberty sought to rebound against a team seemingly low on momentum.
For the initial three quarters, they performed well, holding the Sparks to just 41 points while heading into the final quarter with a 26-point lead.
However, things unraveled in the final quarter.
The Sparks, who had won just two of their last ten games, refused to concede, and the Liberty felt the strain.
Without Kelsey Plumb, who had been traded to Phoenix, Los Angeles mounted an impressive 21-0 run in just under three minutes, narrowing the Liberty’s commanding lead.
Ionescu finally broke the drought with a crucial basket after 4:19 without scoring.
But the Sparks kept pushing.
In a tense moment with 3:50 left in a tight game, DeMarco was called for a foul on Marin Johannes during an awkward play.
Unfortunately, this cost the team their final timeout.
Throughout the last four minutes, the Sparks clawed back to within three points three times.
With under a minute to go, Dearika Hamby’s layup cut the Liberty’s lead to 82-79, and a shaky inbounds pass from Pauline Astier was seized by Ariel Atkins, leading the Sparks to call a timeout with 26.6 seconds to go.
Ray Burrell then hit a layup, making it 82-81 with just 21.7 seconds left.
Ionescu stepped up and made two free throws to widen the lead again to three, securing the win.
The Sparks dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring New York 40-18.
If the Liberty had lost, it would have ranked as one of their most demoralizing defeats this season.
Even with the victory, the Liberty had reasons to reflect, considering they should not have allowed the Sparks to remain competitive in the final moments.
