Sabrina Ionescu breaks WNBA 3-point record as Liberty close gap on top seed

Breanna Stewart scored 25 points and Sabrina Ionescu broke the single-season three-point record to help New York beat the Los Angeles Sparks 96-89 on Thursday night, giving the Liberty eight straight wins.

New York (32-7) moved a half-game behind Las Vegas for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Liberty close out the season on Sunday at home against Washington. The Aces have a home-and-home series with Phoenix on Friday and Sunday.

The loss put the Sparks (16-23) a half-game behind Chicago for the final playoff spot. The Sky own the tiebreaker between the teams so Los Angeles would have to win at Seattle on Sunday and have Chicago lose its final two games.

Ionescu topped Diana Taurasi's single-season 3-point mark and now has 124 this year.

"It's an honour, any time you're able to pass arguably the greatest basketball player that ever played in the WNBA," Ionescu said.

Records are meant to be broken