In 'a must-win for us,' Liberty even series with Sun at 1-1 - ESPN

NEW YORK — A day that started in celebration for the New York Liberty as Breanna Stewart was named WNBA MVP ended in further positivity and relief for the team as it evened its semifinal playoff series with the Connecticut Sun at 1-1 with an 84-77 victory Tuesday night.

After being stunned in Game 1 with a 15-point home loss, the No. 2 seed Liberty used a big second half in which they outscored the No. 3 seed Sun 46-35 to swing momentum back in their favor as the series heads to Connecticut.

«I think there's just a different mentality when you're down one,» said guard Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with a team-high 21 points. «This was a must-win for us. We weren't going to lose two at home, especially in front of this crowd that's supported us already all year long, and especially how far we've just come as a team, understanding that a lot of the mistakes that we made in that first game were in our control. Coming into Game 2, it was controlling the controllables and playing our style of basketball, and if we did that, everything else would take care of itself.

»We were able to see what it felt like to have one slip away and not let that happen again tonight."

All five Liberty starters finished in double figures as New York scored 21 more points than it managed in Game 1, which was its worst offensive outing of the season. Ionescu and Betnijah Laney led the way, with the former getting downhill often and hitting all 10 of her free throws and the latter knocking down a career-high five 3s on seven attempts.

Stewart, now a two-time MVP, came through with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double while also managing 5 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals.

«Everyone made the plays that helped us win this game and did their job,»