Breanna Stewart was determined to change the outcome this time.
As the Minnesota Lynx made another push in the fourth quarter, the two-time league MVP was not going to let the New York Liberty lose again.
Stewart scored 21 points and set a WNBA Finals record with seven steals, helping the Liberty defeat the Lynx 80-66 on Sunday in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.
Similar to Game 1, New York built a double-digit lead in the first half, but this time they managed to hold on, evening the series at 1-1 before heading to Minnesota for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
“The moment the game ended Thursday night, I was looking forward to Sunday to change things, change the narrative a little bit,” Stewart said. “Be the same I was and be obviously better.”
Minnesota was down by nine early in the fourth quarter but narrowed the gap to 68-66 with a layup from Courtney Williams with 3:40 left. Those were the last points Minnesota would score.
“Our offense was bad at a time when we really needed it. Our pace was slow,” said Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve. “We were taking too long to get into our plays, and I don’t think we were very difficult to defend at that moment. That was a tough time for that to happen.”
New York stepped up their defense and scored effectively. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton kicked off a game-ending 12-0 run with a 3-pointer from the corner. Stewart’s putback with 57 seconds left gave New York a comfortable lead. She had missed a free throw with just 0.8 seconds left in Game 1 that could have won the game for New York.
Laney-Hamilton contributed 20 points, hitting crucial shots throughout the game and also playing strong defense. She had missed more than a month due to a right knee injury before the Olympic break and has been working to get back into shape.
“I think what she brings is this grit, this toughness,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. “We all know she’s giving us everything she has. The way she kept being aggressive, they were going under on her, and she confidently knocked down those shots.”
Stewart also contributed eight rebounds and five assists to go along with her record for steals. “I wanted to make it difficult for all the players I was going against,” Stewart said.
The game attracted a sellout crowd of 18,040, including celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, Katie Couric, Fat Joe, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma. This was the largest crowd ever for the Liberty at Barclays Center.
With this win, New York avoided going down 0-2, which would have required a historic comeback. In fact, all 20 teams that have trailed 0-2 in the best-of-five Finals have lost the series.
For the Lynx, Napheesa Collier scored 16 points, and Courtney Williams added 15.
New York led 23-21 before finishing the first quarter with the last eight points to take a 31-21 lead at halftime. Sabrina Ionescu scored 10 of her 15 points in the first 10 minutes, and Stewart added seven.
The Liberty extended their lead to 46-31, but Minnesota cut it down to 10 by halftime.
The Lynx closed the gap to 57-53 near the end of the third quarter, but Stewart responded with two free throws, made a big block on defense, and then scored a jumper to give New York a 61-53 lead heading into the fourth.
New York was ahead 64-55 early in the fourth before the Lynx scored 11 of the next 15 points, getting briefly within striking distance.
