All the pressure is now on the Minnesota Lynx. Sabrina Ionescu made the biggest shot of her stellar career, draining a 3-pointer from just inside the logo with one second left to lift the New York Liberty to an 80-77 win Wednesday in a nail-biting, heart-palpitating Game 3 of the WNBA Finals in front a franchise record 19,521 fans inside Target Center. “I’ve practiced that shot a thousand times in my head, on the court. As athletes you put yourself in that position to want to be able to make a shot,” Ionescu said. “Great player made a good shot,” said Kayla McBride, who closely shadowed Ionescu before the Liberty guard found just enough separation to cap an 11-4 New York run over the final 2 minutes, 25 seconds. It’s the second straight game New York was clutch late. The Liberty scored the final 12 points Sunday to pull away in an 80-66 Game 2 win. Up 2-1 in the series, New York can win its first WNBA title Friday in Minneapolis. If necessary, a deciding Game 5 would be Sunday in Brooklyn. The Lynx will kick themselves for letting this one slide. One example is Minnesota shot 38.7% but was just 19 of 55 over the final three quarters, including 5 of 18 in the final frame. “We had good shots, didn’t make shots and that’s what it comes down to,” said coach Cheryl Reeve. “We talked about players making plays, and unfortunately we didn’t make enough of them to put the ball in the hole.” Minnesota led 73-69 on a Courtney Williams basket with 2:25 to play, but Jonquel Jones drained a 3-point shot, Napheesa Collier missed for Minnesota, and Ionescu fed Jones underneath for a 74-73 Liberty lead with 1:31 to go, New York’s first lead since 5-2. “They’re a great offensive team, and like Coach said in the locker room, it puts a lot of pressure on our defense,” Collier said. “We just need to make more shots.” McBride missed on a drive for Minnesota, and an Ionescu 3 with 55.6 seconds left put the Liberty up 77-73. Bridget Carleton scored with 34.6 seconds left for Minnesota before Ionescu missed a 3-pointer. Collier made two free throws to tie the game with 16 seconds left. Collier led four Lynx players in double figures with 22 points to go with nine rebounds and five steals. McBride had 19 points, Carleton 14 and Williams 12 points and eight assists. In a role reversal, the Lynx led by 15 points in the opening quarter, a lead that was down to one to start the fourth quarter. Stewart had a 3-point play to cap an 11-2 run over the final 2:12 of the third quarter to make it 62-61. A 3-point play by the Liberty center tied the game at 66, and after a McBride three, Stewart made it 69-all via a 3-point play with 6:18 left. Stewart led New York with 30 points. Ionescu, Jones and Leonie Fiebich each had 13. At the free-throw line, Stewart was perfect in 10 attempts. Collier was 3 of 4 for Minnesota. “The game’s called differently for Phee than it is for Stewie, for sure,” Reeve said. “You look at the same level of activity and around the rim contact. For whatever reason we have a hard time getting to the foul line in this series.” Minnesota led 28-18 after one quarter and 43-35 at the half, but the Lynx did not finish either quarter strong, with New York scoring seven of the final nine points in both. “They punched us in the face in the first quarter, and we continued to wear them down. We knew our pace is something that made them tired,” Stewart said. The Lynx trailed by 15 in the first quarter of Game 1 and 17 in the second quarter of Game 2, making a much better start in Game 3 a must. They got it. Forcing New York into three of its eight first-quarter turnovers, Minnesota went on a 12-0 run, including a pair of McBride treys, for a 14-5 lead a bit more than three minutes in. McBride finished with 10 points in the quarter and Bridget Carleton seven, and the Lynx led 28-18. The pair had a combined 16 points in Game 2. Collier honored again Collier and A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces were unanimously named to the 2024 All-WNBA First Team. It’s the second straight season and third time overall the Lynx forward has earned first-team honors. She becomes the fourth Lynx player to receive the award multiple times, joining Maya Moore (2013-17), Lindsay Whalen (2011, 2013) and Katie Smith (2001, 2003). Second to Wilson in the league’s Most Valuable Player voting, Collier ranked second in the league with 1.91 steals per game and third with a career-best 9.7 rebounds. Wilson and Collier were joined on the first team by Stewart, Caitlin Clark of Indiana and Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut. 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