Liberty vs. Wings: Breanna Stewart's 33 and Sabrina Ionescu's Overtime Takeover Beat Dallas 99-98

The New York Liberty scored nine points in the third quarter on Monday. Nine. A team that runs its offense through Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu put up a single-digit quarter, fell behind by 12 and looked exactly like a team sitting on a four-game skid.

They won anyway. Stewart finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, Ionescu scored 12 of her 21 in overtime, and New York left College Park Center with a 99-98 win over a Dallas Wings team playing without Paige Bueckers. In one loud, ugly, wonderful night, the skid and Dallas' six-game winning streak both came to an end.

Nine Points, Somehow

The first half gave no warning of the chaos ahead. New York led 25-22 after one and 50-47 at the break, even after Dallas' 8-0 run had flipped a 43-37 deficit into a 45-43 lead late in the second.

Then the Wings ripped off another 8-0 early in the third and the Liberty offense went missing. Dallas won the quarter 21-9 to lead 68-59, and when Arike Ogunbowale hit a pull-up at 4:21 of the fourth, it was 77-66. New York had every excuse to pack it in. Instead it clawed all the way back, and it took two Ogunbowale free throws with 3.5 seconds left just to get the Wings to overtime at 83-83.

Overtime turned into a shootout. Dallas got threes from Li Yueru and Ogunbowale to go up 93-90 with 2:39 left. Ionescu then took it personally, hitting a 9-footer, a 24-foot three at 1:49 and a driving layup off a Stewart pass at 1:20 to make it 97-93. Stewart's free throws at 46.7 made it 99-95.

Ogunbowale wasn't finished. Her 25-footer with 27.5 seconds left made it 99-98, and a Liberty shot-clock violation gave Dallas one more shot at it. She got a good look in close and banked it hard off the rim as time ran out.

Overtime Belonged to Ionescu

Ionescu's line is one of the strangest you will ever see in a win. She shot 8 of 25 overall and 2 of 10 from three. All five of her overtime shots went in, which means she was 3 of 20 before that. A normal person would have stopped shooting somewhere around the 14th miss. Shooters are not normal people, and that is why they are worth the trouble.

Stewart was the reason New York was still alive when overtime arrived. She went 10 of 19 from the field and 11 of 12 at the line, had three assists on Ionescu's overtime baskets and committed one turnover in 42 minutes. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and 10 rebounds, seven of them offensive, and Marine Fauthoux gave the Liberty 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Ogunbowale led Dallas with 29 on 9-of-24 shooting and a perfect 8 of 8 at the line. Jessica Shepard had 13 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, and the AP says it was her 17th double-double of the season, tying Atlanta's Angel Reese for the league lead. Azzi Fudd played 43 minutes and scored 15. Maddy Siegrist gave them 13 points in 11 minutes and made all three of her threes. Bueckers sat out after hitting her head on the floor late in Sunday's 90-82 win over Los Angeles. The team said she is not in the concussion protocol but was still sore.

Seventeen to Six

Forget overtime for a moment, because none of it happens without the last 4:21 of regulation. Down 77-66, New York got a 25-foot step-back three from Fauthoux and a Jones basket, and Ionescu added a technical free throw. Fauthoux then hit another step-back three, this one from 24 feet, and three Stewart free throws tied it at 78 with 2:24 left.

Ogunbowale answered with a 27-foot step-back of her own at 2:00, which would have broken most teams. New York got a Jones basket with 29 seconds left, two Stewart free throws for an 82-81 lead at 12.9 and one more from Rebecca Allen at 6.2. That is a 17-6 finish to regulation by a team that had just managed nine points in an entire quarter. Fauthoux's two threes were the spark, and they arrived at the exact moment this game was about to get away for good.

The Numbers Behind the Chaos

• Third quarter: Dallas 21, New York 9.
• Last 4:21 of regulation: New York 17, Dallas 6.
• Offensive rebounds: New York 17, Dallas 7, part of a 48-34 edge on the boards.
• Three-pointers: Dallas 11 of 21, New York 9 of 32.
• Field goal attempts: New York 84, Dallas 76, which is what all those second chances buy you.

One Skid Over, One Streak Gone

New York moves to 14-12 and 7-7 on the road after dropping four straight, and the Liberty will host Chicago on Wednesday. Dallas still leads the season series 2-1 after wins of 91-76 and 88-77, but this one has to feel like a major exhale for a team that had not won since July 3.

Dallas falls to 17-9 and 8-4 at home. Considering the Wings were missing Bueckers, gave up 17 offensive rebounds and still had the ball with a chance to win at the horn, this is about as encouraging as a loss can get. They go to Portland on Wednesday.

Mechanical Issues

This game was supposed to be played on Thursday, until the Liberty's charter flight developed mechanical issues. Four days later, the offense had some mechanical issues of its own, with a nine-point third quarter and an Ionescu who was 3 of 20 before overtime. Anyone who has ever sat on a tarmac knows how this goes: a long delay, a miserable middle and then, somehow, you get where you were going. New York got there by one point.

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