Coach Sandy Brondello has the Liberty focused and ready for a back-to-back set against Atlanta and Minnesota beginning Thursday in Downtown Brooklyn. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews
The Eastern Conference-leading New York Liberty haven’t played on back-to-back nights yet this season.
They’ll have to do so Thursday and Friday at Downtown’s Barclays Center just two days after overcoming an 18-point deficit in Tuesday’s 86-82 victory over Seattle here.
New York (17-5) opened this previously unexpected season-high four-game homestand with Sunday’s 101-83 blowout of Indiana, and will be bidding to complete its fourth four-game winning streak of the year against the Dream (13-10) in the opener of these consecutive contests.
“Four (games) in six days,” head coach Sandy Brondello said of the brutal stretch. “The schedule is crazy, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We have to fight.”
They also might not have much breathing room for the back-to-back bouts if they hope to maintain their slim lead atop the East.
Second-place Connecticut (18-6), the defending champion of the East, is percentage points behind the Liberty and is off until Sunday, when it hosts Minnesota (11-13).
By then, New York would have completed its two-step against Atlanta and the Lynx and will be headed to Los Angeles to open a two-game set vs. the Sparks (8-15).
This was slated to be a three-game stand at Barclays, but the originally scheduled June 7 home matchup against Minnesota was postponed due to air quality issues in New York stemming from last month’s Canadian wildfires.
“The city has been placed under an Air Quality Health Advisory until Thursday morning. This decision has been made to protect the health and safety of our fans, teams and community,” the team said in a statement.
Fresh off rallying for their biggest comeback win of the year, spearheaded by All-Star Sabrina Ionescu’s fourth career triple-double, the Liberty will be aiming for their third win in…
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