NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Leonie Fiebich hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Breanna Stewart added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the New York Liberty never trailed Sunday in their 83-69 victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
New York can sweep the best-of-three series with a win Tuesday in New York. Game 3, if necessary, is Thursday in Atlanta.
The Liberty 鈥� who made each of their first six field-goal attempts, including four 3-pointers 鈥� jumped to a 13-4 lead. Allisha Gray was fouled on a jumper and hit the and-1 free throw to cut Atlanta鈥檚 deficit to four with 5:33 left in the first quarter, but the Liberty scored the next 14 points 鈥� the final seven by Sabrina Ionescu 鈥� to take an 18-point lead. The Dream went scoreless for more than four minutes before Tina Charles hit a fade-away jumper to spark a 7-2 spurt that trimmed their deficit to 29-16 going into the second quarter.
New York made 8 of 11 from the field, 5 of 6 from the 3-point range and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line while outrebounding the Dream 11-3 in the first period. Atlanta, which shot 35.3% (6 of 17) and went 0 for 6 from behind the arc, trailed by double figures for the final 33-plus minutes.
SUN 93, FEVER 69
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) 鈥� Alyssa Thomas had the 15th triple-double of her career to spoil Caitlin Clark鈥檚 playoff debut as Connecticut beat Indiana in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
Thomas finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, earning her fourth postseason triple-double. Marina Mabrey led the third-seeded Sun with 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Her 27 points are the most by a reserve in the playoffs, according to ESPN.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Connecticut with a potential decisive third game in Indiana on Friday night if necessary.
Clark, who earlier in the day was announced as the , finished with 11 points, recovering from a rough start. She also had eight assists. Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana.
LYNX 102, MERCURY 95
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� Napheesa Collier scored a playoff career-high 38 points and Minnesota blew a 23-point lead before rallying late to beat Phoenix in Game 1 of a best-of-three series.
Minnesota, the Western Conference champions and No. 2 seed, turned a 32-19 first-quarter lead into a 50-27 advantage with 5:35 left before halftime. Phoenix whittled nine points off its deficit, trailing 56-42 at intermission, and closed within 77-69 heading to the fourth quarter.
Kahleah Copper scored five points in a 10-2 run and her 3-pointer followed by two free throws by Brittney Griner gave seventh-seeded Phoenix its first lead since scoring the first four points of the game. Natasha Cloud鈥檚 layup put the Mercury on top 92-91 with 2:06 left to play, but Myisha Hines-Allen answered with a layup and Bridget Carleton hit a 3-pointer in a 9-0 spurt to pull out the victory.
Collier sank 11 of 19 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers and 13 of 14 free throws for Minnesota. She added six rebounds and four assists. Kayla McBride hit three 3-pointers and all seven of her foul shots, scoring 20. Carleton had 12 points, six boards and four assists, and Hines-Allen added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
The Associated Press
