Sabrina Ionescu wouldnt be denied the game-winning moment she dreamt of

MINNEAPOLIS — It was a shot Sabrina Ionescu had always envisioned.Her game-winning 3-pointer to clinch an 80-77 win in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals sets the Liberty up with a chance to close the best-of-five series for their first title Friday.It couldn’t have gone better for New York, though the play didn’t go as initially planned.With 16 seconds left and the score tied 77-77, the Liberty called a full timeout.During the huddle, head coach Sandy Brondello made it clear to Ionescu that the ball would be in her hands and she would be trusted to make reads off the defense for the final shot.Ionescu received the inbounds pass on the right side of the court, which was what the Liberty wanted — for their ball handler to bring the ball to her left side towards the center.

Nevertheless, the Lynx fouled her, forcing the play to switch sides.Inbounding again with nine seconds remaining, the Liberty kept the plan the same.Ionescu got the ball and dribbled to the middle of the court near the Lynx logo as Jonquel Jones ran up to Ionescu for an awkward pick movement, but then ran toward Breanna Stewart to draw attention toward the two-time MVP.As the commotion below drew some of the Lynx’s attention, Ionescu crossed to her left hand and stepped back for a sliver of separation to nail the 28-foot dagger with only one second remaining.“I was looking at her like, ‘I don’t think you’re supposed to be on that side,’ ” Jones said Thursday.

“You saw me run up there and ghost out.It was crazy, I was just happy she made something out of it.”“We wanted to get her on her left hand so that’s why it was a little bit clunky, but the result was good in the end,” Brondello added.The misstep was no issue for Ionescu, who said Thursday she practices the deep shots to prepare for tight-game moments.The three-time All-Star, who is not a rim watcher, followed the ball with her eyes and even quarter turned her body to the opposite side of the court, backing away before...