Breanna Stewart, Liberty Soothe Fever Without Caitlin Clark
BROOKLYN—Ironically enough, the New York Liberty's cure to one last bout with the pre-All-Star blues sans Jonquel Jones was some Fever.
The Liberty ended the first half of their first postseason championship defense on a high note, putting forth one of its most, if not the most, complete efforts of the season with a 98-77 victory over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
With the win, the Liberty (15-6) moved back into second place on the WNBA leaderboard on the final night of action before this weekend's All-Star festivities in Indianapolis. Both of the Liberty's reps had strong games: Breanna Stewart fell three assists short of her first career triple-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Sabrina Ionescu had 15 tallies with nine helpers.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever, playing without sophomore sensation Caitlin Clark due to a groin injury, with 16 points in defeat. Indiana will have an immediate chance at revenge after the break as they'll once again visit the Liberty at Barclays Center on Tuesday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.