Ionescu drops triple-double, Liberty erase 18-point deficit to beat Storm

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 22 points, Sabrina Ionescu had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for her fourth career triple-double and the New York Liberty overcame an 18-point second-half deficit to beat the Seattle Storm 86-82 on Tuesday night.

Jewell Loyd scored 22 of her 32 points in the first half for Seattle (4-19), which has lost a franchise-worst 10 straight games.

New York trailed 55-37 with 5:55 left in the third quarter. But the Liberty scored 11 straight points during a 15-2 run to get within 57-52 after 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney.

Stewart sank a jumper from the free-throw line with 2:52 remaining in the fourth to give New York its first lead, 74-72, since it was 30-28 in the first half. Sami Whitcomb answered at the other end with Seattle’s 10th 3-pointer.

Whitcomb gave Seattle a 77-76 lead on a shot in the lane, but Jonquel Jones banked in a wide open 3-pointer at the other end to give New York the lead for good.

Laney finished with 19 points and Jones had 13 points and 17 rebounds for New York (17-5). Ionescu was just 2 of 14 from the field, but made all six free throws to help secure her first triple-double of the season.

Ezi Magbegor had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and Whitcomb, in her second straight start, added 11 points. Rookie Jordan Horston did not play due to personal reasons.

Loyd, who scored 12 points in each of her past two games, made five 3-pointers to help Seattle lead 45-35 at halftime. Loyd didn’t make a field goal in the second half until the closing seconds of the fourth.

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