Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum overcame parallel struggles to lead Liberty, Aces to Game 2 wins

Sabrina Ionescu was not herself offensive — in the second half of the New York Liberty’s regular season, she shot just 33% from the field, and in her final three games of the year, that figure dropped further worsened, plummeting to 18% shooting.

The New York Liberty were the heavy favorite heading into a first round match-up with the 8th-seeded Atlanta Dream, but whether the sharpshooter would overcome her shooting struggles was a key question. This was the same player who shot 44.3% from three in the 2023 season, but could she get back to that form as the Liberty pursued a championship?

In a closeout win in front of a boisterous Barclay’s Center crowd, Ionescu quelled concerns about her shot, tying a franchise record for most points in a playoff game.

In the 91-82 series-sealing victory, Ionescu exploded for 36 points on 12-23 shooting alongside a game-high 9 assists.

“This was really important for us to come out, take these two and have a couple days off and kind of rest, recharge and get ready for whatever it is we’re going to play,” Ionescu said after the win.

She also credited a mid-game high-five with Spike Lee for energizing her.

“I felt like New York was injected into my veins at that moment,” Ionescu said with a smile.

On the other side of the country, Kelsey Plum was similarly hoping to shake off a poor shooting performance.

She opened the 2024 postseason with an uncharacteristic night, scoring just 2 points on 1-8 shooting in Game 1 against the Seattle Storm — later revealing she had battled illness in that one.

But, the three-time All-Star regrouped to help lead the Las Vegas Aces to a deciding Game 2 victory, posting 29 points on 11-15 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

“I think I’m working on giving myself a bit more grace. I was projectile vomiting in Game 1, the whole game,” Plum said postgame. “I kind of sat yesterday at a sushi bar, and I was like, ‘you know what? I’m going to throw Game 1 out the window.’”

The two All-Star guards — who collectively won gold medals at the Paris Olympics last month — will meet on Sunday when the Liberty host the Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA semi-finals.

For the two-time defending champions, facing the Liberty is going to require upping their game even further.

“New York is a lot better than they were last year, just plain and simple,” Plum said. “They’re bigger. They shoot the ball at a better clip. If you go down the line, like pound for pound, individually, all of them are better basketball players, so credit to them.”

Aces head coach Becky Hammon said she’s happy with her team’s defensive improvements of late, but that she recognized the challenge that lies ahead.

“They’ve been the best team all year,” Hammon said. “They played like a team pissed off, with an edge, and we’ve worked our way there. I feel like we got our edge back probably in the last three to four weeks. It always starts on the defensive end, but at the end of the day, wins, losses, shots made, shots missed — it’s all 0-0.”

Both the Aces and Liberty have multiple-time MVPs on their roster — A’ja Wilson has won the award three times in her career, and Breanna Stewart twice. Both are Defensive Player of the Year candidates, and both continue to be

But, it could come down to the teams’ respective All-Star guards. And, on Tuesday night, both Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum showed that they won’t let some early-September struggles rattle them.