Sabrina Ionescu was arguably the best player over the first two games of the semifinal series between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces, as she led her team to a 2-0 lead. That was decidedly not the case on Friday night, as Ionescu had more turnovers (five) than points (four) and shot 1 of 7 from the field in the Liberty's 95-81 loss in Game 3.
This was, by far, the worst game of the playoffs for Ionescu, and the first time she's had more turnovers than points in a game since Aug. 14, 2022.
"Obviously they did [take Ionescu out of it]," Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. "She's been playing great. Of course they want to make it hard for her."
Right from the opening minutes of the game, it was clear the Aces were going to be intentional about pressuring Ionescu and making her see multiple bodies. On the first trip where the Liberty had to bring the ball up the floor, Jackie Young picked Ionescu up in the backcourt.
The next time down, Young met Ionescu at halfcourt, and when the Liberty tried to set an extremely high ball screen to get their point guard going downhill, Alysha Clark met her at the level and forced her to retreat.
On the next trip, the Liberty tried to switch things up. Breanna Stewart brought the ball up the floor, and ran a dribble handoff with Ionescu. Clark switched it aggressively and got her hands up to deflect the pass that was on its way to a wide open Stewart, who was rolling free behind the defense.
Those three possessions set the tone for how the game would go for Ionescu.
"They were being really aggressive in the pick-and-rolls this time, she wasn't able to get downhill," Brondello said. "It was more of a hard hedge and they were very active with their hands, getting deflections and making it very hard."
Ionescu worked diligently to improve her inside-the-arc game this season, and she carried the Liberty down the stretch in Game 2 by getting into the paint time and again for key buckets and assists. There was no space for her to do the same on Friday.
Even here, late in the third quarter, when the Liberty try to free Ionescu with staggered screens, she's unable to get into the paint. Clark forces her backwards on the first screen, and Megan Gustafson cuts off the driving lane on the second one. Eventually, Ionescu gets stuck and travels.
When Ionescu looked for her own offense, the Aces did a good job making her uncomfortable. All seven of her attempts came off the dribble, and they were all contested, save for a wide open layup that she bizarrely missed. On another night, she could have certainly made more of her attempts, but most of them weren't easy.
Overall, Brondello praised the way the Aces "brought the physicality" and were "more intentional" in their defensive approach. "There was less separation," she continued. "It was like they were more connected than they were in those other games. ... They were more destructive, and then they saw success and it gave them more energy."
It would have been a major surprise if the Aces didn't come out with that sort of intensity with their season on the line. This summer hasn't gone to plan for the back-to-back champions, but they were never going to give up without a fight.
The big question is whether the Aces can summon that sort of effort two more times. It takes a lot of energy to effectively employ the style of defense they used to slow down Ionescu at the point of attack, and they're even more shorthanded than usual now that Kiah Stokes is sidelined with a concussion.
Of course, the Liberty prefer to focus on themselves, as they have all season long. Brondello has faith that Ionescu will respond in Game 4 on Sunday.
"She's just gotta continue to trust that we'll get the ball back to her and take the ones that are open," Brondello said. "She missed some open ones that she usually makes, but sometimes, teams speed you up. She'll be fine. She's a competitor. She'll take this on the nose and come ready to play in the next game."