Breeanna Stewart scored 21 points and the New York Liberty pulled away late for Sunday's crucial 80-66 Game 2 win over the Minnesota Lynx that evened the WNBA Finals at 1-1. (More Sports News)
The top-seeded Liberty closed the game on a 12-0 run to avenge Thursday's stunning home loss to the Lynx, in which second-seeded Minnesota overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to rally for a 95-93 overtime win to open the championship series.
Minnesota put forth another late comeback try in Game 2, as it cut a 10-point third-quarter deficit down to two when Napheesa Collier's turnaround jumper with 6:46 remaining brought the Lynx within 64-62.
It remained a two-point game until New York's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to give the Liberty a 71-66 lead and start the game-sealing final surge.
Laney-Hamilton went 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points for New York, which made good on 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc (45.8 per cent) compared to 6 of 20 (30 per cent) for Minnesota.
Stewart added eight rebounds and five assists while setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals. Fellow All-Star Sabrina Ionescu chipped in 15 points and five assists to help the Liberty avoid a dreaded 0-2 deficit in the best-of-five series.
Collier led the Lynx with 16 points and eight rebounds, while team-mate Courtney Williams recorded 15 points and eight assists and Alanna Smith had 14 points for Minnesota.
The Lynx will host the next two games of the series, with Game 3 to take place Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Ionescu scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Liberty took a 31-21 lead into the second, and New York shot 51.4 per cent in the first half to enter the break with a 49-39 advantage.
Minnesota trailed 64-55 early in the fourth quarter before closing the gap with a 7-0 run capped by Collier's jumper, which followed a 3-pointer from Kayla McBride.
