The Liberty dominated the Sky in the first game of the series. There is a time and a place for it.
The New York Liberty took control of their first-round series against the defending champion Chicago Sky with a 98-91 victory on Wednesday night.
The Liberty trailed by six points with three and a half minutes left but were sparked by an impressive assist from guard Marine Johannes.
Howard broke free to the basket for an easy layup after Johannes hit him with an over the head, no look pass.
It was the kind of pass Howard learned to stay ready for, even if she wasn't expecting it.
Howard said after the game that it reminded him of a Sue Bird pass. It brought back some memories.
The Liberty went 5-for-5 from the field to win the game.
The Liberty and Howard each had a game-high 22 points as New York set a franchise record for most points in a playoffs game.
Ionescu said that they battled all game. We continued to chip away after we were down a lot. We came here and did what we were supposed to do. What people didn't think we could do.
The Sky are on the verge of elimination in this three-game series after they failed to score in the final 3:32 of the game.
The Sky went 0-for-8 from the field down the stretch and missed a pair of free throws. They had their chances throughout the fourth quarter but went just 2-for-9 on wide-open looks.
"We were down and trying to get back, and I don't know, I feel like we haven't panicked all year, and tonight we might have a little bit," Stevens said after the game. It's a little unusual for us. We will be better on Saturday.
Five Sky players scored in double figures, led by Kahleah Copper with 21 points, but the Sky couldn't score down the stretch. They gave up the most points in a playoff game since 2016 on Wednesday.
"We have to stay together, that's what we have to do," said the Sky forward. This is a series, according to the person. We know that we have to remain together. We are aware that we made it difficult. We need to keep it one game at a time. We can't think about the future. On Saturday, we have to come out and be better.
The second game is in Chicago.
The first two rounds of the playoffs used to be single-elimination, but before the season the league adopted a three-game series in the first round.
Sky coach James Wade took issue with the format of the playoffs, where the higher seed gets the first two games at home, with the lower seed getting home court advantage for a potential decisive Game 3.
Wade said that they need to play 40 minutes. We cannot play this team for 35 minutes. When you relax, they're going to take advantage of it. Everyone will play against the champion.
The Sky will need to win in Brooklyn to advance past the first round. New York is one win away from a major upset that could derail the playoffs.
In this format, you just need to steal one, according to Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. I'm very proud of this team and how they fought. This is playoffs and it wasn't always perfect. We were able to win. You have to wake up for the next game. If we can win, we can advance.
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