Liberty vs. Sky: Sabrina Ionescu Scores 9 in the Final Minute as New York Stuns Chicago 95-94

With 58.9 seconds left in Brooklyn, Sydney Taylor made two free throws to put the Chicago Sky up 93-85. That is the moment a reasonable person starts checking the subway schedule. Sabrina Ionescu, unfortunately for everybody wearing a Sky uniform, does not take the subway.

Ionescu scored nine points in the final minute, Jonquel Jones' free throw with 3.4 seconds to go broke the tie, and New York walked off with a 95-94 win on Wednesday night that should not have been mathematically available. Chicago led 84-72 with 5:29 to play. By ESPN's count, Chicago led for 80 percent of the game. None of that survived.

Four Different Games in One Building

This thing changed personalities all night in front of 16,783 at Barclays Center. The Sky came out scorching, putting up 32 in the first quarter, then managed 14 in the second. New York's 12-0 run across halftime turned a 46-39 Chicago lead into a 51-46 Liberty lead early in the third.

Chicago settled back in and carried a 71-70 edge into the fourth, and that is when the Sky seemed to end the suspense. Gabriela Jaquez and Taylor hit threes to kick off an 11-0 run, and another Taylor three at 5:29 made it 84-72.

New York then scored nine straight in 81 seconds: a Breanna Stewart pull-up, a 26-foot Jones three and an Ionescu step-back three with the foul for a four-point play. After a Natasha Cloud jumper, Pauline Astier scored, and then Stewart blocked Courtney Vandersloot at one end and finished a layup at the other to make it 86-85 with 2:35 left.

The Sky, to their enormous credit, took that punch and ran off seven unanswered points. Kamilla Cardoso scored inside, Vandersloot hit a 12-footer, Taylor kept making free throws, and it was 93-85. A one-point game had become an eight-point game with a minute left, and most comebacks die right there.

Nine Points in 41 Seconds

Ionescu's first shot is the one that will get replayed all week: a contested three from the corner at 56.1, with her body already headed out of bounds. Next came a 26-footer at 28.1. Vandersloot split a pair at the line to keep Chicago up three, so Ionescu scored from two feet, took the contact and made the free throw with 15.1 seconds left. Tie game at 94.

She finished with 29 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 5 of 7 from three and 8 of 8 at the line, and she scored 13 of New York's last 23 points. Her five threes were nearly half of the team's 11, and the rest of the roster went 6 of 21 from deep, which is how a game like this stays out of reach for 39 minutes. Stewart had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and her 5-of-19 shooting explains why those 8-of-8 free throws mattered so much. Jones added 14 points and 10 rebounds, Rebecca Allen scored 12, and Astier's nine points came with five assists. Ionescu, Stewart and Astier also combined to go 19 of 19 at the line, and in a one-point game there is no such thing as a meaningless free throw.

Taylor deserved a better ending. Her career-high 31 came on 9-of-17 shooting with four threes in just 26 minutes, and she finished plus-9 in a one-point loss. Vandersloot scored 14, Cardoso had 10 points and five assists, Cloud had nine points and seven assists, and Azura Stevens blocked four shots before finishing with six fouls. Chicago also won the paint 42-34 and doubled New York on the break, 14-7, which is usually a pretty good recipe.

The Layup Chicago Will See in Its Sleep

Tie game, 15.1 seconds left, Chicago ball. For all the absurdity of the previous minute, the Sky still had the last good chance to win it, and they got the look they wanted. Vandersloot ran a pick-and-roll and found Cardoso rolling to the rim for a layup that would have turned New York's rally into a very entertaining footnote.

It missed. Cardoso then fouled Jones, who made one of two with 3.4 seconds on the clock, and that was the entire margin. Everything Ionescu did would have been a great story about a loss if that ball had gone down. Comebacks like this need a lot of unlikely things to go right, and that was the last one on the list.

How a Team Gets Outshot and Still Wins

• Final 5:29: New York 23, Chicago 10.
• Three-pointers: New York 11 of 28, Chicago 7 of 21, a 12-point difference.
• Free throws: New York 26 of 28, Chicago 19 of 21.
• Field goals: Chicago 48 percent, New York 41 percent.
• Steals and assists: Chicago won those 8-1 and 27-17, and it did not save them.

Two Wins, Two Points

New York moves to 15-12 and 8-5 at home with two straight wins, both by a single point, after Monday's 99-98 overtime escape in Dallas ended a four-game skid. The Liberty also beat Chicago 96-95 on June 17, so their two wins over the Sky this season have come by a combined two points. A trip to Los Angeles on Tuesday is next.

Chicago sits at 9-18 and 4-11 on the road. After Sunday's 93-91 loss in Atlanta, the Sky have dropped consecutive games by a total of three points, which is a brutal way to head into a long layoff. Their next game is at home against Connecticut on July 30.

The Fan on the Q Train

The Sky led for most of the night, got a career game from Taylor and outshot New York by seven percentage points. They still left Brooklyn with a loss, because the last minute of a basketball game runs on its own rules and Ionescu currently holds the copyright. Somewhere on the Q train there is a fan who bailed at 93-85 and is already telling everyone she stayed until the end.

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