Fire vs. Liberty: Sarah Ashlee Barker Ignites a 12-0 Run as Portland Hands New York a Third Straight Loss

Sarah Ashlee Barker's name did not appear in the scoring column until 4:46 remained in the fourth quarter. By then the New York Liberty were up five in their own building, Breanna Stewart was practically paying rent at the free throw line, and Monday night in Brooklyn seemed headed for a nice, quiet ending. Two minutes later, Barker had seven points, Portland had the lead, and nobody at Barclays Center was quiet about anything.

The Portland Fire rode a 12-0 run and a 32-point fourth quarter to an 81-74 win over the Liberty, who have now lost three straight and slid to 3-4. The expansion team also walked out with the season series, which is not how New York drew this up in May.

A First Half Nobody Will Frame

For 20 minutes, offense was more of a rumor. Portland's 8-0 burst in the first quarter turned a 5-3 deficit into an 11-5 lead, and that was about as smooth as things got. The Fire carried a 19-18 edge out of the first and a 35-33 edge into the locker room, with Carla Leite scoring eight for Portland and Marine Johannes putting up 11 for New York.

Then the Liberty found a pulse. A 9-0 run that began before the break and ended with 9:02 left in the third flipped a 35-30 deficit into a 39-35 lead, and Johannes spent the quarter playing like someone had dared her. Her signature moment came around the midway point: drifting out toward midcourt, going the wrong way on purpose, she whipped a blind ball over her own head, and Jonquel Jones was there for the and-one that made it 47-40. If you run New York's social media, you were having a great night.

It did not last. New York won the third 24-14, took a 57-49 lead to the fourth and pushed the margin to 10 early in the period. That was the high-water mark.

Nine Straight, a Breather, Then 12 More

Portland answered with nine in a row to cut it to 59-58 by the 6:27 mark. New York steadied just long enough to reach 65-60. Then Barker arrived.

Her layup off a Bridget Carleton feed opened the run. Megan DiLeo scored inside to make it 65-64. Barker's 24-foot 3 with 3:36 left put the Fire in front for the first time since early in the third, and her 5-foot turnaround pushed it to 69-65. When Luisa Geiselsoder drilled a 23-footer off a Leite assist, it was 72-65 with 2:17 to go.

From there, New York's entire offense was Stewart getting fouled. She made six straight free throws across three trips, the last two cutting it to 74-71 with 29.6 seconds left. Leite, who had already scored from close range at the 39.3 mark, ended that conversation with a 25-foot 3 inside the final 15 seconds. Johannes hit a 3 to make it 77-74, the Liberty's first field goal of the last five minutes, and Carleton closed it out with four free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Stewart Got Hers. It Wasn't Enough.

Stewart finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and 15 of those points came at the line, where she went 15-of-17. From the field she was 4-of-11. That's a star finding the one open door in the building, and credit to her for finding it, but it's a hard way to live for 33 minutes.

The help was uneven. Jones had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but she shot 3-of-11 and finished with five fouls. Johannes scored 17 on five 3s and dished six assists, along with six of New York's 19 turnovers, a line best filed under high variance.

The Liberty were also thin. New York was without Sabrina Ionescu, and Satou Sabally played four minutes, picked up two fouls and headed to the locker room with an illness, according to the AP. She did not return. Pauline Astier logged 32 minutes and finished minus-14.

Portland went with the committee approach. Leite's 18 came on 8-of-14 shooting, DiLeo scored 11 off the bench on 5-of-8, and Carleton and Teja Oblak added 10 each. Then there's Emily Engstler, who scored eight and was still the most annoying person in Brooklyn: four steals, four blocks, five rebounds, plus-10. Barker's line deserves a second look too. Seven points, five rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes, with all of the points arriving in a span of 1:54.

The Real Turning Point Was the Turnover Pile

The 12-0 run gets the highlight package, but the math behind it had been building all night. New York shot 40 percent, Portland shot 41, and the Liberty made 14 more free throws. That's usually a comfortable win. Instead, New York kept handing the ball back. Those 19 turnovers, plus a two-to-one edge for the Fire on the offensive glass, eight to four, meant Portland took 75 shots to New York's 52.

Twenty-three extra shots is a lot of extra chances for a team to figure something out. Portland went just 9-of-26 from deep and had eight shots blocked, and it still had enough tries left over when the game was on the line. New York's defense was not really the issue. Its ball security was.

The Numbers New York Won't Enjoy

• 32-17: Portland's fourth-quarter edge, one period after losing the third 24-14.
• 75-52: Field-goal attempts, in the Fire's favor.
• 23-15: Points off turnovers, also Portland's way.
• 24-of-26: New York's free throw shooting, which kept it in a game its offense could not.
• 0: Liberty field goals in the final five minutes until Johannes's 3 with 11.4 seconds left.

Where Everybody Stands

Portland moves to 4-3 and 2-1 on the road, with two straight wins after Saturday's 99-80 victory in Toronto. This was the third and last meeting with New York this season, all three crammed into the first seven games, and the Fire take the set 2-1 after a 98-96 win and a 100-82 loss back home. Connecticut visits Portland on Wednesday.

New York falls to 3-4 and 1-3 at home, and all three losses in this skid came in its own gym: Golden State, Dallas, Portland. Phoenix arrives next for a two-game set starting Wednesday, and the Liberty would probably like to see more of their possessions end in shots.

Best Supporting Actress

Seven points won't put anybody on a poster. That's fine. Hollywood invented an entire category for this. Stewart had the lead role and the biggest number on the marquee, Johannes had the scene everyone will clip, and Barker showed up for less than two minutes of screen time and walked off with the movie. New York's next film session should be uncomfortable. It will feature a lot of Sarah Ashlee Barker.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game context as reported by the Associated Press.