Lynx lock down Liberty

In their second game without their #1 pick Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty fell short for the fifth time this season and are now 0–5. It is questionable if the point guard will and should return to the #Wubble this season. The Liberty still have six rookies to develop and nothing to win this season. The Lynx on the other hand improve to 4–1 after their third straight win. Sylvia Fowles was out (calf), Bridget Carleton earned the first start of her career and had an outstanding game: She scored 25 points, grabbed 7 boards and dished out 3 assists. The Canadian was aggressive from the get-go, pulling the trigger from everywhere on the court. Her efficiency was off the charts – she made 11 of her 16 shots from the floor (3/3 3pt).

New York kept the game close for the entire first half by attacking Minnesota on the drive. The absence of Fowles was noticeable. The Liberty took advantage of the lack of rim protection on Minnesota’s side of the court. It took the Lynx some time to adjust, but at the end of the second period, they’d managed to contain New York’s drives. In consequence, they were able to build a lead on the back of great shooting from outside (10/21 3pt). Their highest first half lead was 42–33; New York was able to close the gap to 44–39, though. They ended the half with a highlight play as well, when Jasmine Jones empathically blocked fellow rookie Crystal Dangerfield’s layup attempt at the buzzer.

The Lync utterly thrashed the Liberty in the third quarter, allowing just 6 points while scoring 27 themselves. Lexie Brown was stealing balls left and right; she finished the game with 7 steals and a season-high 15 points (5/11 FG). She also set up 4 makes and grabbed 5 misses. New York’s Kia Nurse was especially struggling with her shot, going 3/16 (2/8 3pt). Amanda Zahui B scored a team-high 13 points on 5/10 shooting. The Liberty weren’t particularly good with Ionescu. They’re certainly worse without her. On the bright side, they have a lot of young players to develop in a season without any aspirations whatsoever. They can and should give their rookies time to develop: Kyle Shook was quite good again, so was Leaonna Odom. Fun fact: New York was worse than Minnesota in each and every category on the statsheet. That just underlines Minnesota’s dominance and how deserved their win was, even if it largely originated in a stunning performance over 10 minutes, not the whole game.

Lynx schränken Liberty ein

… Spielbericht folgt in Kürze …

Boxscore: https://www.wnba.com/game/20200805/MINNYL/