The defending champion Liberty are now in the final push of the regular season.
And it got off to a good start following a 98-84 comeback victory against the Indiana Fever Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
The Liberty trailed by as many as seven points in the third quarter, then erased the deficit and led by one entering the fourth following Breanna Stewart’s layup in the final seconds.
And it was Stewart who contributed six points in a 10-4 run in the final 3:10 to end the third.
From there, the Liberty began the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run in the first four minutes, capped by Jonquel Jones’ trey that put New York up nine.
Barclays Center quickly erupted — like they did in during pregame introductions as Jones’ name was called.
The crowd went on to keep cheering as the Libs won the final period, 29-17, while improving their regular-season record to 16-6.
Jones, who returned to action after missing a month due to an ankle injury, led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds. Stewart logged 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.
It was enough to hold off Kelsey Mitchell’s 29-point performance on a night Caitlin Clark missed due to a groin injury.
It was a win for the Liberty, And a win for Jones who looked comfortable throughout her 23 minutes of action following a nine-game absence.
“It’s great. It’s a happy day. JJ is back,” head coach Sandy Brondello said before tip-off. “She’s worked really hard, excited to integrate her back into the team. In regard to minutes restrictions, there’s no minutes restrictions. She’s medically cleared, and she’s good to go, but we still want to be smart. She hasn’t played in quite some time and [we want to] build her up.”
Jones anchored the Liberty after halftime, recording eight points in the third, including a traditional three-point play with Aliyah Boston draped over her that shortened the deficit to one at the 4:26 mark.
It helped her team win the third quarter, 27-21. And the Liberty gained control of the game in the fourth and never turned back.
Aiding in the comeback win was Leonie Fiebich, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Sabrina Ionescu, who returned home after winning the three-point contest, caught fire in the end and finished with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting. She tallied 11 points, including three made treys in the final 5:30 of regulation to put the Fever to bed.
Just like that, a game that the Fever looked to control with pace and dribble penetration turned into a double-digit loss.
The Fever led by two going into halftime and later stretched it to eight in the third period. But playing a healthy Liberty team without Clark proved to be too tall of a challenge.
The win gives Brondello’s team a 3-1 regular-season series win over Indiana.
The Liberty will be back in action Friday at home against the Phoenix Mercury. The Fever will now return home to face the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
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