Liberty survive massive Sparks comeback attempt, win 85 81

[Glenn84]

Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as the New York Liberty held off a huge Los Angeles Sparks rally to win 85 81 on Thursday night. New York built a massive 28 point lead early in the fourth quarter and looked completely in control before the Sparks ripped off a 21 0 run to get right back into it

At one point Los Angeles trailed by just one point with 22 seconds left and had a real shot at matching the biggest comeback in WNBA history, which the Chicago Sky pulled off from 28 down back in 2022. Rae Burrell got the Sparks within a point on a reverse layup, but Ionescu calmly hit two free throws to push the lead back to three before Ariel Atkins missed a potential game tying three pointer from the wing with seven seconds to go

There was a scary moment for New York in the third quarter when Ionescu went down awkwardly after playing defense and grabbed her right foot before subbing out. She came back onto the court about four minutes later to a big ovation from the crowd, which was obviously a relief given how big a part of this win she ended up being in that final stretch

Jonquel Jones was quietly excellent too, finishing with 11 points and 18 rebounds while helping build that early 28 point cushion, and Burrell led all scorers with 28 points on an efficient shooting night for the Sparks in what ended up being a losing effort

New York improves to 21 14 and has now won 8 of their last 10 games, while the Sparks drop to 12 21 and have lost 10 of their past 12, a rough finish to what was still a wild game to watch

Liberty 85-81 Sparks (Aug 13, 2026) Game Recap - ESPNwww.espn.com

[DarkEnergy]

It was great win for Liberty 

[Router]

A 28 point lead getting cut down to one with 22 seconds left is genuinely terrifying if you are a Liberty fan watching that unfold live, that 21 0 run must have felt like it came out of nowhere

[TaxSeason95]

Ionescu grabbing her foot and limping off in the third quarter had to be a scary few minutes for New York given how much they ended up needing her down the stretch

[RainyDayFund76]

Jonquel Jones putting up 18 rebounds almost gets forgotten in a game with this much late drama, that early lead does not happen without her control of the glass

[PixelBarrel]

Genuinely surprised the Sparks did not get a better look than that final Atkins three, feels like there could have been a cleaner play drawn up with that much time on the clock

[ThreadNecro]

Free throw shooting basically won this game for New York in the clutch, Ionescu going a perfect 3 for 3 at the line in that final minute is exactly what you want from your star guard

[Glenn83]

Wonder how much fatigue played into the Sparks fourth quarter surge, sometimes a team playing from way behind has nothing to lose and just starts letting shots fly with total freedom

[EdgeRatedR]

Ariel Atkins missing that potential game tying three at the end is one of those shots that will replay in her head for a while, that was the Sparks best look all fourth quarter

[Saka75]

Los Angeles losing 10 of their last 12 says everything about where this season has gone for them, moral victories like almost completing a historic comeback do not change the standings

[Luca76]

Rae Burrell dropping 28 points in a losing effort is the kind of stat line that gets buried in a recap but deserves its own mention, she was clearly the best player on the floor for a stretch there

[MessiGOAT48]

The Sparks being that close to matching the biggest comeback in WNBA history and falling just short has to sting more than a regular blowout loss would

[GradientHydra]

New York winning 8 of their last 10 is a solid stretch run, but this game exposes some concerning fourth quarter execution issues that better teams in the playoffs could exploit