In the fourth quarter, with less than eight minutes to go in Game 1 of Sunday’s semifinal matchup between the Liberty and Aces, Las Vegas’ Alysha Clark cheated too far into the paint to lend defensive help against Breanna Stewart, leaving Sabrina Ionescu open on the wing.
Stewart sent the ball to Ionescu, who swished one of her two consecutive 3-point daggers in the Liberty’s 87-77 win in front of a sold-out Barclays Center crowd.
After sinking the shot, Ionescu ran past Spike Lee, pointing at the filmmaker and Brooklyn native in celebration.
Lee, who was wearing an Ionescu jersey, pointed back in excitement for the Liberty star.
While the friendship has garnered the spotlight during the Liberty’s playoff run, the growing rapport between the two New York celebrities dates back to 2020, when Ionescu was the No. 1-overall pick in the draft out of Oregon.
“To be honest, I think he might have been the first person that called me when I got drafted here,” Ionescu said after the win. “I think that’s a story that I don’t know if I’ve ever said. But he was, I think, the first person that called me and just shared his excitement with New York getting the No. 1 pick. Kind of every time I’ve seen him along the way, we’ve just had small talk, and I kept telling him he’s got to come out to a game because this is kinda like no other. To be able to see him here, cheering us on loud, he was over there chirping at the refs, talking to the players, which was really fun. But obviously, it’s exciting to see the support that we’re getting from all New York fans.”
Ionescu and Lee also shared a high-five in the Liberty’s Game 2 win over the Dream in the first round of the playoffs.
Before inbounding the ball, Lee put out his hand to the three-time All-Star, and mere seconds later, Ionescu drove in for a layup.
She said she felt New York was “injected” into her veins at that moment.
Jonquel Jones called it the “Spiderwoman” touch.
Lee has been seen courtside at countless Knicks games, always selecting one specific player to pick on.
On Sunday, he brought that same energy to the Liberty’s semifinal opener, choosing to pick on Aces guard Kelsey Plum, who chirped back, telling Lee to “talk louder.”
It was all “fun” to Plum, she said after the game.
She also acknowledged it was “cool” to have him there for the start of the best-of-five series.
Ionescu went on to score 21 points, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc, while also tallying five assists, two steals, four rebounds and a block.
