Sabrina Ionescu was a no-go Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn as the Liberty saw their bid for a third straight win go by the wayside. AP Photo by Terrance Williams
Liberty All-Star point guard Sabrina Ionescu’s sore left hamstring kept her on the bench Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn.
The Atlanta Dream took full advantage of her absence.
Just four days after torching Atlanta for a career-high 37 points, Ionescu was unable to take the floor in the rematch as the Dream held on for an 86-79 victory over New York in front of 5,719 fans at Barclays Center.
Coming off Sunday’s 102-93 triumph here vs. Dallas on Sunday, the Liberty (6-3) were looking for their third straight win and seventh in eight games against Atlanta (3-5), which had lost three in a row and four of five before arriving on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
Ionescu, who put up 22 points against the Wings last weekend, was ruled out Tuesday morning, and the Liberty were unable to build on the first back-to-back 100-point performances in franchise history.
“It’s just precautionary. She hasn’t got an injury per se,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello revealed. “But it was the smartest thing for us to do, knowing we have four days off after this.”
Sharpshooter Marine Johannes filled in admirably for Ionescu, pouring in a game-high 18 points while drilling four 3-pointers.
“I always want Marine to be aggressive,” Brondello said. “I was proud of her. … She made some big shots for us.”
Betnijah Laney added 17 points and Breanna Stewart, fresh off being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this year, finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for New York, which took a 62-60 lead on Laney’s 10-footer early in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta rookie Haley Jones answered with a 3-pointer and the Liberty played from behind the rest of the way en route to their second loss in the last three home contests.
Johannes’ 20-footer with just over a minute to…
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