New York’s star power hadn’t mattered much to date in matchups this season against the Lynx. In the majority of meetings between the two squads in 2024, Minnesota bested the Liberty by out-executing New York on both ends of the floor, generating better shots on offense and setting the tone with its defense. That’s why the Lynx — who don’t possess the name notoriety of New York — were consistently able to outduel the Liberty. But in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night in Minneapolis, in at least this instance, star power was indeed a differentiator. Because when push came to shove, it was New York’s big-time players making all the big-time plays in the biggest of moments, none bigger than Sabrina Ionescu’s 28-foot, stepback triple with one second remaining to break a tie and give the Liberty an 83-80 victory. “Great player made a good shot,” said Kayla McBride, who buried five triples Wednesday for Minnesota but had a front-row seat at the end as the on-ball defender for the Ionescu jumper that will live in WNBA Finals lore. Great players making good shots was what Wednesday’s tilt boiled down to in its simplest form. Breanna Stewart made big plays throughout the affair. She was played off the court by Napheesa Collier over the final 10-plus minutes of Game 1. That was a key factor in Minnesota’s thrilling come-from-behind victory to kick off the series. On that night, Stewart looked as though she had no answer for Minnesota’s physicality. Collier looked like two times the player of Stewart, a past Finals and league MVP who appeared, on that night, to no longer be in that tier as a player. She proved otherwise on Wednesday at Target Center. In a raucous environment in downtown Minneapolis, an unfazed Stewart was the best player on the floor. The forward almost singlehandedly kept the Liberty in the game after Minnesota raced out to an early advantage. Stewart finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Then, when it mattered most, she received timely help from her high-powered sidekicks. Ionescu and Jonquel Jones were quiet for roughly 38 minutes on Wednesday, and New York was on the ropes because of it. A Courtney Williams jumper put the Lynx up four with less than two and a half minutes to play. A Lynx stop on the ensuing Liberty possession would’ve put Minnesota firmly in the driver’s seat. But Jones quickly pulled the trigger from deep on a catch-and-shoot opportunity, and she drilled it to trim New York’s deficit to one. “That JJ three sort of changed things for them,” Lynx coach Chery Reeve noted. And on the Liberty’s following possession, Ionescu found Jones at the rim, who cashed in the opportunity to put the Liberty in front for the first time since early in the opening frame. Then Ionescu hit a big triple to extend New York’s advantage to four points in the closing minutes. It’s a credit to Minnesota that it clawed back to knot the game on a pair of Collier free-throws with 15 seconds to play, but that set the stage for Ionescu to shine once more. “That’s what it’s about. We talked about players making plays,” Reeve said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough of them to put the ball in the hole.” New York’s shot making down the stretch was a stark contrast to what Minnesota was doing on the other end of the floor, where the offense dried up again. Minnesota went 5 for 18 from the field in the final frame. The Lynx were 14 for 40 in the paint for the game. “I’ll have to look at the film. I know when I was watching it live, I liked the shots that we were getting. I’ve seen our players make those shots,” Reeve said. “It’s not to sit here and say that New York doesn’t get credit for their defense. … But it felt like we had some good opportunities.” Down the stretch, Myisha Hines-Allen and McBride missed multiple point-blank looks around the rim that would’ve given a stalled offense that boost it needed to perhaps pull the game out. In that respect, the Lynx weren’t able to meet the moment. That isn’t always true — it certainly wasn’t in Game 1. But much has changed since then. New York’s big-name standouts looked more comfortable and confident with the ball in their hands and the game on the line Wednesday. Stewart, Ionescu, Jones — all three named All-WNBA players hours prior to the contest, and proceeding the part in the fourth quarter. As Ionescu said in her post-game, on-court television interview: “I’m built for this moment.” Stars often are. Does Minnesota have the players outside of Collier and Courtney Williams who can rise up and deliver in a similar manner should the opportunity arise again in this series? Time will tell. “I feel like they were making plays at the ends of shots clocks and, like Coach said, we were getting really good looks. We just weren’t executing on the offensive end,” said Collier, who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and five steals. “It’s just hard when you get that, and then obviously they’re a great offensive team. It just puts a lot of pressure on our defense. “I think we just need to make more shots, honestly.” Related Articles Minnesota Lynx | WNBA Finals: Liberty beat Lynx on long Sabrina Ionescu shot, take 2-1 series lead Minnesota Lynx | WNBA Finals: Courtney Williams is perfect playoffs point guard for these Lynx Minnesota Lynx | WNBA Finals: What to know about Game 3, plus keys to a Lynx victory Minnesota Lynx | WNBA Finals: Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams have been consistently excellent on offense. But Lynx need others to produce Minnesota Lynx | WNBA Finals: Lynx offense sputters in Game 2 defeat