Down 0-2 in the WNBA Finals, the New York Liberty responded with a resounding victory as they took game three in the franchise’s first Finals game hosted at Barclays Arena, winning 87-73. Brooklyn set the league record for largest attendance at a W game per League PR, 17,143 people in attendance.
As the Liberty sought to keep their season alive and establish their footing in the series, no player stamped their signature on the game like Jonquel Jones.
After Jonquel Jones' huge performance tonight, the player of the game in New York's first Finals win since 1999, it's hard to not think about this story from her introductory presser on bringing her to New York pic.twitter.com/KuJPbOcMUb
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) October 15, 2023
As New York GM Jonathan Kolb laid out in Jones’ introductory presser in the late winter, he’d had a Liberty jersey with her name on it for nearly a year; games like tonight are why, as Jones finished with a team high 27 points along with 8 boards, 3 assists, and 5 combined steals and blocks.
She was the best player on the court from tipoff to the final buzzer, central to New York’s schemes and successes on either end of the floor.
“She’s a superstar, this girl,” said Sandy Brondello with a smile as Jonquel sat down next to her postgame.
“She’s carried us… in the games that we lost, she was really the only one that was being consistent. She was big for us and we’re going to need her to do it again on Wednesday.”
No play was bigger than when she ripped and ran coast to coast off the defensive glass, early in the third quarter.
Multiple moments in the game felt crucial to momentum, but Jones’ aggression to call her own number, draw the defense on the drive, and hit the cutting Betnijah Laney felt the largest live and upon rewatch. The game had been within 3 possessions leading up to this point, and New York went on to dominate the majority of the third quarter, sandwiched between this play and another 3 from Jones just after the two minute mark to put the team up 14.
As Brondello harped on postgame, their transition defense was substantially better on Sunday than in the first two games of the series. Making shots and finding their flow on offense helped to allow them to establish themselves in the halfcourt defensively.
Games 1 and 2 were headlined by New York’s defensive struggles, particularly keeping the ball in front and staying attached to Las Vegas’ guard trio. Betnijah Laney was superb sticking to Jackie Young, and Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu were both significantly better on the defensive end in game three; Breanna Stewart, and particularly Jonquel Jones, set the table for New York’s guards to have a margin for error with their defensive dynamism in game three.
(Jonquel was absolutely tremendous switching today)
“She was on A’ja a fair bit tonight, I thought she did a fantastic job shot-blocking, changing shots, switching and staying in front of guards… it’s not easy for a player that size,” – Sandy Brondello
While New York still played largely out of a man to man defense with switching when screened out of a play, their help principles were more aggressive today.
Originally, Sabrina Ionescu was moved onto Kiah Stokes, Stewart onto Chelsea Gray, and Laney onto Young with Jones defending A’ja Wilson primarily. Ionescu was empowered to be active as a help defender, keeping her away from precarious matchups on the perimeter where she’s struggled to contain. If the Aces tried to pull Ionescu into screening actions, the Liberty would lightly blitz screens (let’s call it sticking a screen), keeping the ballhandler from getting downhill and slowing down the pace.
That, along with much tighter and honed in activity on switches by the Liberty prevented a lot of Las Vegas’ dribble penetration, and in turn sludged up their ball movement.
However, what happens outside of the screening actions was arguably more important when considering how New York faired in Sin City when their guards were on an island.
Jones and Stewart were much more aggressive today in gap help, leading much further off of their assignments.
While it is riskier given how potent the Aces can be with space to operate, putting Stewart on Gray made those windows and gaps smaller to attack with her length and timing. She and Jones were expert with positioning, darting in at the right time, and making every open driving lane a mess.
Watch how far Stewart helps off of Gray, nearly a double team onto Plum. That’s an extremely difficult rotation to make and tons of ground to cover: Jones splits the distance and stunts to Gray, who looks to drive the open lane, but is met by a stout defender instead, and then Stewart is back on her hip.
The ball is kicked to the waiting Wilson, Jones closes to the baseline, A’ja attacks inside… and Stewart is there again. This is perhaps the most drastic moment showing how aggressive the Liberty were off the ball, but it’s also the most illustrative.
Becky Hammon noted postgame how stagnant the Aces were today, far from their usual selves, and not something that should be expected again. The Liberty certainly deserve credit in contributing to that stagnancy.
Jones was tremendous playing closer to the level of the screen, using her hands and wingspan to make passes difficult, using her feet to keep the ball in front, and using her length to impact play.
Her verticality (ability to stay vertical in one plan *aka not fouling*) was wildly impressive on A’ja Wilson, a significant factor in Wilson’s struggles at the rim today. Her timely jaunts to the paint were sublime, perfectly toeing the line of aggression to be her most impactful as a deterrent. She blocked or altered at least 10 shots at the rim in the game, far and above the first two games combined, one of the finest defensive performances of her career.
New York’s offense also found the most traction in game three that they have all series, finishing with a series high in points scored, but also just playing with the verve that made them great offensively during the regular season. They found their high-low big to big playmaking a few times between Jones and Stewart, something missing in prior games. They played with more decisiveness, removing the hesitancy they played with in Vegas. Most important was the movement they played with, and what that opened up for them on the interior.
The Liberty have largely struggled to get into the paint this series, as the Aces have done a superb job working to neutralize Courtney Vandersloot’s ability to get in the paint. Today, the Liberty turned that on it’s head, opting to attack from the sides of the court to open up the middle, a place that was barricaded the past few games. Sideline ball exchanges and handoffs, including pitch plays from Vandersloot before she would screen the other guard’s defender were big today.
Why does that matter?
New York plays with a great deal of shooting, particularly players who can shoot on the move (Ionescu) and you cannot afford to go underneath or miscommunicate on a screen for players with that level of shooting threat. The Aces largely played a show and recover pick and roll coverage, where the screen defender shows high to prevent the open shot and recovers to the roller as the guard gets back over the screen.
The Liberty used that to their advantage.
They looked to slip or ghost the majority of their screens, attacking a pick and roll coverage that puts two defenders on the ball by exploiting the pocket of space afforded to the roller. Jones was fantastic in taking that space, making it hers, and going up aggressively with the ball.
It’s worth noting that Vegas’ defensive activity and focus was not at the same level today as it had been in game one or two, but that’s why you play the game. It’s impossible to throw a perfect game every game. New York made adjustments, capitalized, and the Aces couldn’t keep up in Brooklyn.
Jonquel Jones dominated game three, owning the paint on either end, playing with force and confidence. If the Liberty are going to turn this series around and win their first WNBA Championship in franchise history, Jones has sparked the fire with her consistent play thus far, and an unforgettable showing at Barclays Center.
