MINNEAPOLIS — As the clock wound down Wednesday night, Sabrina Ionescu smiled and started to clap at Natasha Cloud while the Lynx started to celebrate on the other end of the floor.

The shorthanded Liberty may have dropped their third straight game, losing 100-93 in a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch.

But New York, down three key players, competed for the full 40 minutes. And that was a win in Ionescu’s book.

“If there’s ever a good loss, this was one of those losses that you can live with,” said Ionescu, who scored a team-high 31 points and had five rebounds and four assists. “Everyone played as hard as they could. Natasha was sick and played through it. Just really proud of the way we were able to fight back and that’s the standard.”

Sandy Brondello did her best to brush off the Liberty’s nearly 40-minute meeting after a pathetic first-half showing in Dallas.

“We have a lot of meetings,” Brondello said before the game. “We had another meeting yesterday. … We had just a little longer one because our performance was unacceptable for a team that wants to win a championship regardless of who’s in and who’s out.”

The meetings have all been about accountability.

This team — when at full strength — has the makings to win another championship. But their lack of effort and stretches of complacency were happening far too often.

Napheesa Collier drives on Jonquel Jones during the Liberty’s 100-93 road loss to the Lynx on July 30, 2025. Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The main point Brondello was trying to make was “let’s be better.”

The Liberty did that Wednesday.

New York has deployed about a dozen different starting lineups this season. They’ve been fully healthy for only two games and are playing without Breanna Stewart, Nyara Sabally and Kennedy Burke for the foreseeable future because of injuries.

Sabrina Ionescu drives to the basket during the Liberty’s loss to the Lynx. NBAE via Getty Images

The Liberty were at risk of playing Wednesday without Cloud, who’s under the weather. But Cloud opted to play and started alongside Ionescu, Marine Johannès, Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones.

New York set the right tone from the start and the smaller lineup allowed the Liberty to play with more pace and space.

Johannès heated up early, scoring eight of her 14 points in the first quarter.

Natasha Cloud goes up for a layup during the Liberty’s road loss to the Lynx. NBAE via Getty Images

“I’m really just proud of our start today,” said Cloud, who contributed 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds. “Clearly in Dallas, we got embarrassed by another slow start. And that’s been our Achilles heel.”

The Lynx, who were playing at full strength, led by nine at halftime. Their lead swelled to 15 in the second half.

But the shorthanded Liberty didn’t surrender.

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Over a two-minute span, New York cut a 15-point deficit to four.

But that would be the closest they would get.

“We never gave up,” Brondello said. “So while we lost, I guess, it was a good performance after a terrible game that we had to come out. Yes, we got down, but we stayed in the game. And we started making shots. They were making shots, too. … We were right there.”

Courtney Williams shoots while being defended by Jonquel Jones (35) in the second quarter of the Liberty’s road loss to the Lynx. AP

There are plenty of lessons to be learned over the course of a season.

The Liberty can’t control how a game is officiated or the injuries they’re dealing with. But they showed Wednesday what Liberty basketball is supposed to look like.

“That’s the standard we have to come out with every night,” Ionescu said. “But with a million reasons why we could have come in here and gone through the motions and made excuses for ourselves, and we didn’t. And I’m proud of each and every player that was out there tonight, playing as hard as they could, doing whatever they could to get back to playing Liberty basketball. And we did that tonight. We got back to playing Liberty basketball, and now we’re going to have to do that every single night.”

New York’s road trip continues with the Liberty heading to Connecticut, where they’re scheduled to play Friday and Sunday.