Sabrina Ionescu secures Liberty Game 3 win in WNBA Finals vs. Lynx - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — Sabrina Ionescu hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1 second left and Breanna Stewart scored 30 points to help the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-77 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.

With the game tied at 77, Ionescu had the ball and dribbled around before pulling up a few steps behind the arc and hitting from 28 feet to break the tie.

«I didn't really remember it. I had to look at the video real quickly and see how far I was,» Ionescu said. «In the timeout Sandy (Brondello) was like, 'You're going to shoot the shot.' I feel like I was able to get a little separation in range. Get a really good shot to go. I let the shot clock wind down and got the space.»

The Liberty erased a 15-point deficit — marking the third-largest comeback in WNBA Finals history, with the largest coming in Game 1 — to move one victory from winning their first title. Game 4 is Friday night in Minnesota, with a deciding fifth game in New York on Sunday if necessary.

Stewart scored 22 of their 45 points in the second half.

«We don't win this game without Stewie,» Ionescu said. «There's nothing I can say. That shot's nice, but what (Stewart) was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game.»

Minnesota didn't get a real shot to tie at the buzzer.

«Great player made a good shot,» Minnesota guard Kayla McBride said. «I guarded her for 40 minutes.»

The Liberty have appeared in the finals five times before, including last season, and lost each one.

Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight straight points, including the first five by Jonquel Jones. Ionescu, who had a relatively quiet game, then hit another 3-pointer after a Lynx miss to make it 77-73 with 55.5