Brooklyn, NY — Sabrina Ionescu delivered another electrifying performance with her second straight 34-point game, fueling a fierce comeback as the New York Liberty rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Dream, 86-81, on Tuesday night.
Down 62-47 midway through the third quarter, the Liberty stormed back behind Ionescu’s 15 second-half points and a strong push from Breanna Stewart, who scored 11 in the same stretch and finished the night with 23 points.
The win concluded the Commissioner’s Cup games for both teams, who entered the night tied at 3-1 along with Indiana. Despite the win, New York (10-1) won’t advance to the Cup final, as Indiana held the tiebreaker after handing the Liberty their only loss of the season just days earlier. Atlanta (8-4) would have advanced with a win.
Jonquel Jones contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Natasha Cloud provided a key momentum shift in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 76 with a three-point play with under four minutes remaining.
The Dream came out firing, especially in the third quarter, opening the half with seven straight made shots to build a 64-47 lead—the largest deficit New York has faced all season. But the Liberty responded with a 13-4 run to close the third, trimming the gap to single digits.
Rookie Te-Hina Paopao led Atlanta with 16 points, all in the first half, going 6-for-7 from the field and knocking down four 3-pointers. Allisha Gray added 14 points, while Brionna Jones and Rhyne Howard each scored 13.
In the final stretch, the teams traded threes before Stewart made a clutch go-ahead layup, then added another bucket off a second-chance opportunity to extend the lead to 83-79. That late surge sealed the deal for the Liberty in front of their home crowd.
