Liberty returns and defeats Sky as Angel Reese extends his streak

NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points and Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 13 rebounds as the New York Liberty beat the Chicago Sky 91-76 on Thursday night.

Angel Reese extended her WNBA-record double-double streak to 15 consecutive games, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She grabbed her 10th rebound with just over 2 minutes left in the game, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

New York (19-4) led 68-66 early in the fourth quarter, but then went on a 7-2 run to open up some space.

Reese’s 10th point brought the Sky (9-13) within 78-72 with 3:51 left. After a timeout, Ionescu hit a 3-pointer and the Sky never recovered.

Chennedy Carter scored 22 points to lead the Sky.

Chicago jumped out to a 37-24 lead midway through the second quarter behind Carter before Breanna Stewart got going to cut the Liberty to 40-38 at the break. Stewart scored the first seven points of a 14-1 run to get New York back into the game.

Ionescu scored her first points of the match to level the series at 38-38, having missed her first seven shots.

Before the second quarter began, New York honored many of its former players, including Ring of Honor recipients Kym Hampton and Sue Wicks. The announcer saved Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon for last, and her former teammates came over and mobbed her after the ceremony ended. Weatherspoon received a warm round of applause from the crowd of 17,758, the largest in Liberty history at Barclays Center.

Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back, with the Sky beating Atlanta in Chicago on Wednesday, while New York beat Connecticut.

The two teams will play each other again on Saturday in Chicago.