Brooklyn, NY — The New York Liberty surged in the second half to take down the Phoenix Mercury 89–76 on Friday night at Barclays Center, riding standout performances from Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones to secure their fifth straight win.
Ionescu lit up the scoreboard with 29 points, while Jones added a double-double — 20 points and 11 rebounds — to fuel the comeback. Leonie Fiebich chipped in with 13 points as the Liberty improved to 17-6 on the season and widened the gap between themselves and the Mercury in the standings.
Despite dropping the first two meetings against Phoenix this year, New York flipped the script on Friday.
Momentum Shift After Halftime
Trailing 54-49 midway through the third, the Liberty caught fire, closing the quarter on a dominant 18-5 run. Jones capped it off with a smooth fadeaway jumper just before the buzzer, putting New York ahead 67-59 heading into the fourth.
From there, Ionescu took control.
The All-Star guard scored the first five points of the final period to spark a 10-2 Liberty run, pushing the lead to 82-64, their largest of the night. The Mercury never recovered, failing to cut the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game.
Star Watch
For Phoenix (15-9), Alyssa Thomas nearly posted another triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists. She came just short of her 17th career triple-double and 13th in regular-season play.
Phoenix had jumped out to a fast start, scoring the first eight points and building a double-digit lead early. But the Liberty weathered the storm, clawing back to tie the game at 46-46 by halftime, thanks in part to Ionescu’s free throws with under a second remaining in the second quarter.
Halftime Stats
Jonquel Jones: 11 PTS, 8 REB
Alyssa Thomas: 15 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST
Halftime Score: 46-46
With this win, the Liberty continue their upward trajectory as one of the league’s most balanced and dangerous teams — and a true title contender.
