The Liberty were once down 15 points on the second of a back-to-back but came back to tie the game. However, Rickea Jackson's buzzer-beater downed New York, 101-99, snapping the Liberty's four-game winning streak.

Los Angeles extended their winning streak to five games.

Breanna Stewart started Saturday’s game but only lasted 3:27 before heading back to the locker room with what looked like a muscle injury. She was ruled out for the rest of the game prior to halftime with a lower leg injury. New York missed her defensive presence.

Los Angeles outworked the Liberty in the paint and on the boards. The Sparks shot 51 percent for the game (41 percent from three) and outrebounded New York 37-33.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Sparks just couldn’t miss in the first quarter, shooting 68 percent overall from the floor and 7-for-10 from three. The Liberty defense could have been better as the Sparks fearlessly drove into the lane for high-percentage shots and would hit open threes when defenders gave space or switches were missed. Los Angeles put an exclamation point on a tremendous offensive first quarter when Jackson drove the lane and hit a layup. The 2024 first-round pick posted 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting (3-of-4 from three). The Sparks led 35-20 after one, the largest first-quarter deficit this season for New York.

-The second quarter was more of the same as Los Angeles continued to pile on the points. Sabrina Ionescu did all she could to keep the Liberty within striking distance with her shooting and facilitating, but the team was unable to get consistent stops. They would drop the deficit to nine at one point, but the Sparks continued to shoot at an incredible clip and went into the half up 58-45. They are shooting 57 percent from the floor, 10-of-18 from three, with a 14-7 advantage in bench points.

-Whatever coach Sandy Brondello said at halftime worked as New York pushed the pace in the third quarter to get turnovers and easy shots. A 14-3 run cut the Sparks' lead to four points with three minutes to go in the quarter. Ionescu would have cut it to one point but her three-pointer was disallowed after a moving screen was called. Ionescu was irate and was given a technical for her troubles. A few turnovers and second-chance opportunities allowed the Sparks to build their lead back up to nine points, but the Liberty got to the line in their final two possessions to enter the fourth quarter down 74-69.

-Both teams went back and forth in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Natasha Cloud made an and-one layup with seven minutes to go to cut the Sparks' lead to three and got the Barclays Center crowd on their feet. But whenever the Liberty threw a punch, Los Angeles had a counter-punch, whether it was a three or a blow-by to the basket. Back-to-back buckets by Ionescu cut the Sparks lead to two points with four minutes to go. Kelsey Plum, who scored just three points in the second half, started to take over with her scoring and passing but Ionescu completed the and-one with 2:18 remaining to tie the game at 95 apiece.

Leonie Fiebich hit a push shot to tie the game at 97 before making a block on Jackson to give the Liberty a chance to take the lead but Jonquel Jones missed a three before the Sparks pushed the pace and Jackson found Azura Stevens alone under the basket for an easy layup and the lead with a minute to go.

Out of the Liberty timeout, Cloud penetrated the lane and barely missed a contested layup. Plum missed a three on the other end before Ionescu tied it with a shot from the right elbow with 23 seconds to go. Sparks held for the final shot and Stephanie Talbot used the foul to give to cut the clock to five seconds. On the final play, Jackson backed down Talbot down low and flipped it up for the buzzer-beater.

-Jones, in her third game back from injury, had a tough game. She scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists. Ionescu was fantastic, scoring 30 points, coming down with eight rebounds and dishing six assists, to go along with her four steals.

Cloud was Ionescu's Robin, scoring 22 points, dishing nine assists and having a tough defensive assignment in Plum.

-Jackson finished with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting while Plum was second with 20 points and eight assists. Dearica Hamby and Stevens feasted down low, each scoring 17 points on eight made shots. Hamby had 10 rebounds while Stevens came down with 11.

Game MVP: Rickea Jackson

Jackson's production may have dipped in the second half, but her 24 points were a team-high and her buzzer-beater prevented overtime.

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Rickea Jackson

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