Jonquel Jones delivers his MVP performance in the WNBA Finals to save the ice-cold Ionescu and Stewart

NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu's first shot hit the side of the backboard. Another blow shortly afterwards hit nothing at all.

After I made one of these most memorable shots in WNBA history To win Game 3, the All-Star guard turned ice-cold Ionescu the rest of the way.

Ionescu shot 1-for-19 from the floor on Sunday and Breanna Stewart wasn't much better, but the New York Liberty got an MVP performance from Jonquel Jones to save their two stars.

Jones finished the game with 17 points and six rebounds Liberty's 67-62 overtime win defeated the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday evening and was rewarded with the WNBA Finals Award.

Ionescu finished the game with five points but added eight assists and seven rebounds. Stewart shot 4-for-15 and finished with 13 points and 15 boards.

The Liberty built what they hoped would be their version of a title-winning superteam by bringing in Stewart from Seattle and Jones from Connecticut to join Ionescu, their former No. 1.

They reached the WNBA Finals last year with the Liberty and had the league's best record this season, but it looked like they would fall short of the title as Ionescu and Stewart continued to fail.

Ionescu opened the game by missing her first 13 shots, giving her 15 straight misses since Game 4, before finally hitting a 3-pointer for the only time all night with 3:10 left, giving the Liberty gave a lead of 56-52.

But after Minnesota took a 60-58 lead, it looked as if the superstars' problems would finally doom the Liberty. Stewart missed two free throws with 38 seconds left, but the Liberty knocked down the rebound, only for Ionescu to miss a three-pointer and then another after New York regained possession.

The Liberty made it to overtime when Stewart hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds left in regulation and got baskets from Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally in overtime to win it.

New York had hoped to avoid Game 5 entirely after Ionescu's 28-foot throw gave the Liberty an 80-77 win in Game 3. But in Game 4, she shot 5-for-16 and missed all five 3-point shots, and Stewart was just 5-for-20 for 11 points.

But the 6-for-6 Jones was the workhorse the Liberty needed, finishing the series with averages of 18 points and eight rebounds. That included 10 points in the first half on Sunday to keep the Liberty close, while Ionescu and Stewart combined for just Stewart's five points.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball