Libs look title-worthy after crushing Aces

Liberty sharp-shooter Sabrina Ionescu roars with delight after drilling one of her seven 3-pointers in Sunday’s win over Las Vegas in Brooklyn. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

Round Two of the battle of the WNBAโ€™s โ€œSuper Teamsโ€ went to New York last Sunday afternoon in front of a record-setting crowd of 11,418 Liberty faithful.

And the defending league champions and owners of the best record in the sport didnโ€™t like it one bit.

โ€œThatโ€™s a good old-fashioned ass-whooping,โ€ Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon conceded following New Yorkโ€™s 99-61 dismantling of her team in front of the most fans ever to take in a Liberty game since the franchise relocated to Downtown Brooklynโ€™s Barclays Center.

The Aces (24-3), who downed New York 98-81 in the initial showdown in Vegas on June 29, entered the rematch on an eight-game winning streak, one shy of their season high.

But the Liberty used a 30-9 third quarter and a team record-tying 17 3-pointers, six of which were buried by All-Star 3-Point Shootout champion Sabrina Ionescu, to flush the Acesโ€™ hopes of going up 2-0 in the regular-season series.

โ€œWe just proved to ourselves what weโ€™re able to do,โ€ said Ionescu, who led the way with 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds as New York (21-6) completed its fifth four-game winning streak of the campaign.

โ€œWeโ€™ve set the level of how we need to play every single game in order to be at our best,โ€ she added.

Reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month Breanna Stewart scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, Jonquel Jones posted her sixth double-double in the last seven games with 12 points and 14 boards and Betnijah Laney added 13 points and nine rebounds for New York.

โ€œThis is the best team in the WNBA right now and they were coming onto our home floor. They kicked our butts the last time we saw them, so thereโ€™s an extra level of focus that it takes,โ€ said Liberty point guard Courtney Vandersloot after putting up 10 points…

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