NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu scored nine of her 29 points in the final minute, Jonquel Jones made the tiebreaking free throw with 3.4 seconds left and the New York Liberty rallied to beat the Chicago Sky 95-94 on Wednesday.
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The Liberty erased a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes. They trailed 91-85 with less than a minute to play before Ionescu hit a contested 3-pointer from the corner falling out of bounds, made another 3-pointer and then converted a three-point play with 15.1 seconds left to tie the score at 94.
Courtney Vandersloot fed Kamilla Cardoso on a pick-and-roll, but Cardoso missed the layup and fouled Jones, who made one of the free throws.
Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Liberty (15-12). Jones added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Rebecca Allen scored 12. Ionescu was 8 of 11 from the field with five 3-pointers and 8 of 8 from the line.
Sydney Taylor had a career-high 31 points for the Sky (9-18). Vandersloot scored 14 and Cardoso 10.
Gabriela Jaquez and Taylor hit 3s to start a run that saw the Sky boost a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter to an 84-72 advantage when Taylor drilled another 3 with 5½ minutes to play.
The Liberty bounced back with Stewart’s basket and 3s from Jones and Ionescu, which she turned into a four-point play. When Stewart blocked Vandersloot’s layup and made a layup at the other end, New York was back within 86-85 with 2:35 to play.
Up next
After the WNBA All-Star break, the Sky host the Connecticut Sun on July 30.
The Liberty visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.