Sabrina Ionescu watched Breanna Stewart carry the New York Liberty all game, until it was time to win it. Then the ball was hers.

"In the timeout, (coach) Sandy (Brondello) was like, 'You're going to shoot the shot,'" Ionescu said.

The star guard made it, a 3-pointer from 28 feet with a second remaining that gave the Liberty an 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday night and moved them a win away from an elusive first WNBA title.

New York leads the finals 2-1 -- the first time it has ever been ahead in the championship round -- and can win the series Friday night in Minnesota.

"We know we're one game away from winning the championship, and I think that they are going to give us their best shot," said Stewart, who won two titles with Seattle. "They are going to give everything they have got, and you know what, so are we. The turnaround is quick but we are going to continue to be ready.

Ionescu said she had to watch replay of her shot after the game to see exactly what happened.

"I didn't even really remember it. I had to go look at the video really quickly to see like how far I was," she said. "I feel like I was able to get a little separation in range and get a really good shot to go."

With the game tied at 77, Ionescu had the ball and dribbled around before pulling up a few steps behind the arc and hitting from 28 feet to break the tie.

"It's pretty special. It was never in doubt. Obviously Stewie got us back in there, willed us in there, but I thought the right time, this is Sabrina," Brondello said. "She just made a big shot. She's a great shooter and she just needed a little bit of separation."

With her game-winning 3, Ionescu passed Crystal Robinson (62) for the most career 3-point makes in the playoffs in Liberty history. She also brought her total 3-point total this postseason up to 28, tying her franchise-record 28 in last year's playoffs. That's tied for the fifth most in a single postseason in WNBA playoff history.

This was the fourth go-ahead 3-pointer in the final 5 seconds of a game in WNBA Finals history, and the first since Maya Moore in 2015. It was the first by the Liberty since 1999, when Teresa Weatherspoon hit "The Shot."

Breanna Stewart's Dominant Performance

Stewart scored 22 of the team's 45 points in the second half and finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

"We don't win this game without Stewie," Ionescu said. "There's nothing I can say. That shot's nice, but what she was able to do for us tonight willed us back into the game."

Minnesota didn't get a real shot to tie at the buzzer.

"Great player made a good shot," Minnesota guard Kayla McBride said. "I guarded her for 40 minutes."

Liberty's Comeback Victory

The Liberty erased a 15-point deficit -- marking the third-largest comeback in WNBA Finals history, with the largest coming in Game 1 -- to move one victory from winning their first title.

They led for just 2 minutes and 19 seconds, the second-shortest amount of time leading in a Finals win in WNBA history. In Game 2 of the 1999 Finals, the Liberty led the Comets for just 2:15 before winning on Teresa Weatherspoon's game-winning buzzer-beater.

"There's a lot of things that we didn't do right tonight and have a kind of quick memory," Stewart said. "I think that we're happy we got this win but the job's not done."

The Liberty have appeared in the finals five times before, including last season, and lost each one.

Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight straight points, including the first five by Jonquel Jones. Ionescu, who had a relatively quiet game, then hit another 3-pointer after a Lynx miss to make it 77-73 with 55.5 left.

Bridget Carleton got the Lynx within 77-75 with a layup 21 seconds later. On New York's next possession, Ionescu had a 3-pointer go halfway through the basket before popping out and Minnesota got the rebound.

Napheesa Collier was then fouled with 16 seconds left and hit both free throws to tie it setting up the exciting finish.

Collier finished with 22 points and McBride 19 for Minnesota. Collier now has 249 points in the 2024 playoffs, passing Diana Taurasi (245) in 2009 for the most in a single postseason in WNBA history.

Lynx's Fight Back and Missed Opportunities

The Lynx flipped the script of the first two games, building a double-digit lead in the first half. Minnesota, which only led for just over three minutes in the first two contests, was up 60-50 with 2:28 left in the third quarter before the Liberty closed to 62-61 by the end of the period. Stewart scored the final five points, including a three-point play with 19 seconds left.

She then scored the first eight points for New York in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 69 with another three-point play with 6:18 left.

Carleton hit two free throws to break the tie 12 seconds later. Neither team would score again until Courtney Williams hit a baseline pullup with 2:26 left to give the Lynx a four-point advantage.

A Look at the Series

The Lynx had a big lead early, but New York rallied and won on Sabrina Ionescu’s long three-pointer with one second left.

This was a high-quality game, part of perhaps the most important season in the WNBA’s history. It’s taken too long to get to this point, but the league’s upward trajectory is encouraging. The level of play is elite. There’s greater investment in the league and women’s sports in general.

The Lynx's quest for a WNBA-record fifth title is taking place during the most impactful season in league history. Interest in the league is at an all-time high, and Reeve actually mentioned Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese while stating reasons for the increased interest.

But let’s not ignore the Lynx’s hand in this. In Game 1, they trailed New York by 18 points in the first half and 15 in the fourth quarter before their rally forced overtime and overtime produced a Lynx win in one of the most thrilling games in league history. A TV audience of 1.1 million watched, the most ever for a Game 1.

And fans returned with their popcorn when Game 2 arrived. On an NFL Sunday, 1.34 million viewers took in Game 2, the most watched Finals game in 23 years. The average audience of the first two games of the series was 1.24 million — an 82 percent increase from last year’s Finals. We have bought in.

The Next Game

Now the joint needs to be packed again on Friday. The Lynx need a win Friday night to extend the series. If the Liberty win, they’re the WNBA champions.