Liberty vs. Sky: Sabrina Ionescu's Late Layup Beats Chicago 96-95 for New York's Eighth Straight Win

Sydney Taylor had just done something rookies making their first career start really aren't supposed to do. With 15.6 seconds left on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena, she let one go from 27 feet off a Skylar Diggins pass, it dropped, and Chicago was suddenly up a point on a New York team that hadn't lost since May.

So New York sent Sabrina Ionescu back in. She took the ball, went straight at the rim and finished left-handed with about 10 seconds to go, and the New York Liberty had a 96-95 win over the Chicago Sky, their eighth straight. Sometimes the best play call is just pointing at your star.

From 14 Down to Nose to Nose

Chicago came out like it had been circling this one on the calendar. The Sky scored 32 in the first quarter, an 8-0 burst made it 26-11, and they stretched the lead to 15 at one point. With 1:58 left in the quarter it was 32-18, and New York looked cooked.

Then the Liberty ripped off 15 straight. The run carried over the quarter break and ended with New York up 33-32 with 6:17 to go in the second. Chicago managed only 13 points in that period, and it was 47-45 Liberty at the half.

From there, it was just a very long argument. The teams traded the lead 15 times in all, New York built a 74-68 edge after three, and Jonquel Jones looked like she might put it to bed when her 25-footer and a pair of free throws made it 89-83 with 4:11 left.

Chicago wouldn't go. Natasha Cloud hit two at the line, Taylor knocked down a 24-foot running jumper, and Diggins tied it at 89 with a free throw at 2:45. After Ionescu answered from deep, Elizabeth Williams got one back at the line, Jones scored from three feet off a Pauline Astier pass for a 94-90 lead, and Cloud made two more with 46.2 seconds left. That's how you get to Taylor, and that's how you get to the ending.

Two Rookies and a Very Deep Bench

Ionescu's final line won't jump off the page: 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 28 minutes. Half of those points came in the last 2:31, though, and those are the half that count. Jones was the steady force, with 19 points, eight rebounds and 3-of-5 from deep, plus a perfect 4-of-4 at the line.

Breanna Stewart scored 17 on 7-of-12 shooting. Satou Sabally matched her with 17 off the bench, going 8-of-11, and Rebekah Gardner added 10 more in reserve. Astier didn't look for much of her own from the field, attempting just three shots, but she went 7-of-7 at the line and finished with nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Han Xu had three blocks in 11 minutes. New York's bench outscored Chicago's 38-14, and in a one-point game you can do that math yourself.

The Sky's story was the kids. Taylor scored 24 on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3, in that first career start, and per the AP, Olivia Miles is the lone first-year player ahead of her in 20-point games. Gabriela Jaquez, another rookie, went for a season-high 22 on 7-of-11 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep. Diggins had 19 points and eight assists, Cloud gave Chicago 11 off the bench, and Kamilla Cardoso battled through five fouls for 10 points and four assists. The five starters accounted for 81 of the 95 points, and they nearly stole one from a team that hasn't been giving much away.

The Two Trips That Decided It

The turning point came down to Ionescu's last two meaningful touches. The first came at 2:31, right after Chicago had wiped out that six-point lead and tied it at 89. The building was fully awake and New York's momentum was long gone. She stepped into a 24-footer and made it 92-89, and the Liberty never trailed again until Taylor's bomb.

The second one you already know. New York had every reason to be rattled at that point, having just given up a 27-footer to a first-time starter with the game on the line. Instead the Liberty went right to the rim. Chicago didn't score again.

The Sky won plenty of the things you'd want to win. They shot better from deep and took more shots overall, 71 to 66. New York's answer came at the line and on the glass, and it was just enough.

The Margins

• 12-of-23 vs. 9-of-27: Chicago's 3-point edge, worth nine points.
• 21-of-23 vs. 13-of-15: New York's free-throw edge, worth eight points.
• 22-12: Fouls called on Chicago and New York, respectively, which is how the Liberty got those extra free throws.
• 10-7: Offensive rebounds for New York, part of a 34-28 win on the boards.
• 15: Lead changes, in case you thought any of this was relaxing.

A June 30 Date Awaits

New York is 11-4 overall and 5-1 on the road, and the win locks up a perfect Commissioner's Cup mark against the East, 6-0 by the Aces' count. Las Vegas clinched its side later the same night, and the Liberty will host that championship game on June 30 thanks to a better average point differential, plus-6.6 per game to plus-3.4. Before that, Washington visits on Friday.

Chicago falls to 4-10 and just 1-6 at home. That's four losses in a row, the last three of them to Atlanta, Indiana and now New York, and this was easily the most encouraging of the bunch. The Sky visit Dallas on Saturday.

Cue the Closer Music

When Mariano Rivera jogged in from the bullpen, Yankee Stadium played Enter Sandman and everyone in the other dugout knew how it was going to end. Ionescu checked in with 15.6 seconds left, with no music and no warm-up tosses, and needed less than six seconds to do the same thing to a Chicago team that had played well enough to win. Lights out, Wintrust.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Context as reported by the Associated Press and the Las Vegas Aces.