Libertys Jonquel Jones finally solves her Lynx puzzle

Before the Finals began, it had emerged as a potential Liberty weakness — a critical factor in the Lynx winning three of four meetings during the regular season.The Lynx had figured out the blueprint to stopping Jonquel Jones, clogging the paint and all but eliminating that part — for both scoring and facilitating — of the Liberty’s powerful offense. Through the opening pair of Finals games, though, the Liberty appeared to figure out a solution.

Jones contributed 14 points and nine rebounds on 6-for-13 shooting during the Liberty’s win against the Lynx on Sunday — which evened the best-of-five series at one — after leading them with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 14 shot attempts in their Game 1 loss.At times, the defense from Alanna Smith and the rest of the Lynx has prevented the veteran forward from getting touches and points.

But for the most part, Jones has delivered despite a difficult defensive matchup. “They’re bringing congestion,” head coach Sandy Brondello said Sunday before the Liberty’s 80-66 victory.“They’re trying to take away.

They don’t want JJ to have it, so we still have to try and find our angles — but not force it if it’s not there.We have to skip it, and then it’s the next action.” In an offense defined by pace and ball movement and spacing, Jones, the league’s MVP in 2021, fills a critical role.

She can create positioning around the blocks.She can shoot — and make — 3-pointers.

She can flip no-look passes, cycle the ball around to others.And she’s in the middle of her third consecutive Finals appearance after one with the Sun in 2022 and one with the Liberty last year. In the first quarter Sunday, Jones drove on Smith and converted a layup from the left side just before the shot clock expired to give the Liberty a five-point lead.

She snagged an offensive rebound before converting a layup in the next quarter, too, and when the Lynx cut their deficit to four in the third, Jones responded with ...