Liberty vs. Lynx: Jonquel Jones and No. 8 New York Sweep Top-Seeded Minnesota in First Round Game 2

Thirty years of WNBA basketball, and nobody had ever done this. On Tuesday night in Brooklyn, the New York Liberty did it without breaking much of a sweat.

The final was 87-71, and it was never really in doubt. Jonquel Jones bullied the Lynx for 21 points and 13 rebounds, Breanna Stewart matched her with 21, and the No. 8 seed Liberty closed out a Game 2 win and a first-round sweep of top-seeded Minnesota. According to the AP, New York is the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league's 30-year history. The Lynx, owners of the best regular-season record in the league, are going home after two games.

Wire to Wire, No Drama

Minnesota never led. Not for a single possession. The box score lists zero lead changes, and New York sat on top for 99% of the night.

New York held a 26-21 edge through 10 minutes, and it was 40-35 Liberty with 2:39 to go before halftime. Then they closed the second quarter by scoring nine of the final 11 points, a sequence that pushed the halftime margin to 49-37 and gave the sellout crowd of 17,593 plenty to yell about.

The scariest moment came with 6:26 left in the third and New York up 52-39. Stewart attacked the basket, Miles went up to contest, and Stewart caught a blow to the face and stayed on the floor for about a minute. After a review, officials bumped the call up to a Flagrant-1. Stewart got up, raised her arms to a crowd chanting M-V-P and made both free throws, because of course she did. Per the AP, Minnesota never got closer than seven after that.

Minnesota trailed 68-56 entering the fourth, and an 8-0 New York run early in the quarter stretched a 71-60 lead to 79-60 with 6:10 to go. Over the final five minutes, the teams basically traded buckets until the clock ran out on Minnesota's season.

Jonquel Jones Owned the Paint

Jones was the best player on the floor. She shot 9 of 14, grabbed six offensive rebounds and seven defensive ones, and was a plus-15. The Liberty piled up a 44-28 edge in the paint, and a big chunk of that was Jones going to work around the rim and cleaning up misses.

She was also the one who put the night into words. "It feels good, we understand who we are as a team," Jones said. "We're not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things. We feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody."

Stewart did her damage in a different way. She shot 6 of 16 and missed all four of her 3-point attempts, but she went 9 of 9 at the line and added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while playing all 40 minutes. On a night her jumper was off, she still found a way to get 21.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 18 on 7-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers, seven assists and three steals. The bench chipped in, too: Marine Johannes scored eight in eight minutes, and Han Xu added six with a pair of 3s.

Minnesota's Stars Went Cold at the Worst Time

Courtney Williams led the Lynx with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, plus eight rebounds and five assists. Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride each scored 14, but Collier needed 14 shots to get there and picked up five fouls. Nia Brodie added 10 off the bench.

The rough night belonged to Miles. The AP reported she was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year a day earlier, and she had been a key piece of the league's best regular-season team. Against New York's length, she shot 1 of 8 for five points in 17 minutes. The AP pointed to the Liberty's size and rim protection as the problem, and it showed in both games.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, named Coach of the Year on Monday, said she tried to put the moment in perspective for her rookie. "As I told her. When was the last time a rookie led the first place team? Never happened before," Reeve said. "That's what we shared with her. This hurts for her."

Williams was blunt about how the night went. "New York is a great basketball team," she said. "You dig a hole for yourself and try to get out of it. We wanted to go on a run, but they had answers for everything."

The Turning Point

The end of the second quarter. Minnesota was within 40-35 with 2:39 to go in the half, close enough to dream about a Game 3 back in Minneapolis. New York's 9-2 finish to the half made it a 12-point game at the break, and the Lynx spent the rest of the night chasing a lead they never really dented.

Stats That Matter

• 44-28: New York's edge in points in the paint.
• 13 of 13: The Liberty's free throws. Perfect.
• 0: Minnesota's largest lead. The Lynx never led at any point.
• 36-29: New York's rebounding advantage, with Jones grabbing 13 of them.
• 26 of 68: Minnesota's field goal shooting, just 38%.

What It Means

New York wins the series 2-0 and moves on to the semifinals, which start Sunday. The Liberty will face the winner of Atlanta and Washington. The Dream lead that series 1-0 and play Game 2 in Washington on Wednesday.

For Minnesota, the ending stings. The Lynx went 33-11 in the regular season, the best record in the league. They collected Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors on Monday and were eliminated on Tuesday.

For New York, this flips last year's script. Back then, the Liberty went up 1-0 on Phoenix in the first round and still got bounced. This time they finished the job. They have now won two straight after dropping their final two regular-season games to Atlanta, the team they could see next.

Closing Take

Every great sports upset needs a line that sounds like a movie trailer. Jones delivered one. "It feels good to make history," she said. "It had to be done for us to advance. It's nice to say it's been accomplished, but we have a lot of work to do."

That is the energy of a team that knows the No. 8 next to its name was always a clerical error. The Liberty did not sneak past the best team in the league. They took its lunch money twice.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press.