Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart carry Liberty past Aces in Game 1 of WNBA semifinals

NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu paused for a second and checked her feet to make sure she was behind the 3-point line. She took a breath then fired, draining a 3 to stretch the New York Liberty lead to 11 points. 

As she frolicked backward with just over seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter, she pointed directly at Spike Lee, who was seated courtside for the second consecutive game. This time he was wearing her jersey.

Last Tuesday, as New York swept the Atlanta Dream out of the postseason, Ionescu exchanged a high-five with Lee midway through the third quarter. She said then that she felt like “New York was just injected into my veins.”

Clearly whatever juice she felt against the Dream carried over to Game 1 of the Liberty’s semifinal series against the Las Vegas Aces.

Ionescu wasn’t alone in delighting the crowd at Barclays Center throughout New York’s 87-77 victory. In addition to Ionescu’s 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting, two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart finished with a team-high 34 points, five rebounds and four assists. Stewart’s frontcourt partner Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 12 boards. 

“We still remember what they did on our home court and we’re coming out to prove them wrong and prove ourselves right,” Jones said on Saturday.

There were no surprises when the Liberty and Aces tipped off their semifinal series. The rematch between last year’s two Finals participants — a series which the Aces closed out in Brooklyn — featured six U.S. Olympians. It saw two teams with plenty of history, and former pairs of teammates line up against each other. 

“There’s no tricks,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “(New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello) doesn’t have any magic plays. I don’t have any magic plays.”

Sunday’s New York victory, however, was more about its magic players than any plays. And no one was greater than Stewart, who scored 20 first-half points, and in the process passed Lisa Leslie for the longest streak of double-digit performances in WNBA postseason history (35 games).

The Liberty hoped to set the tone in Game 1 with their physicality. They forced Aces star A’ja Wilson into a contested 3-point miss on Las Vegas’ first possession, and let their defense continue to dictate gameflow from there.

New York led by 10 at halftime, with its length disrupting Las Vegas’ offense. Through the first 20 minutes, the Aces shot only 30.8 percent from 3-point range and had six turnovers, more than half of their season average.

Aces guard Chelsea Gray threw an errant pass on the Aces’ opening possession coming out of the locker room, and less than five minutes later, New York’s lead ballooned to 18. Those in attendance waved their white rally towels as both teams retreated to their benches. 

Of course, Las Vegas never folded.  Aces guard Kelsey Plum scored Las Vegas’ first 12 points after halftime before Wilson got back on the scoresheet just over six minutes into the period. Wilson finished with 21 points while Plum finished with 24. A 12-0 run cut New York’s lead back to six. But Gray, hounded by New York rookie wing Leonie Fiebich, was unable to get a shot off to end the third quarter, and New York entered the final frame up nine.

The Aces sliced the deficit to eight with 1:37 remaining in the game but were unable to get any closer. New York, which finished with the league’s best record during the regular season, never trailed. 

Of course, the best-of-5 series is far from over. New York will host Game 2 on Tuesday before the matchup flips to Las Vegas. But as New York eyes its first title in franchise history, a first statement was made.

“We want to show how much we’ve grown,” Stewart said. 

(Photo: David Dow / Getty Images)