A big Liberty deficit had stunningly turned into a four-point lead in the final minute.
But the real stunner was still to come.
After the Lynx forged a late tie in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night, Sabrina Ionescu hoisted a 28-footer — from just in front of the logo — with less than 3 seconds left.
Nothing but net. Liberty win. Liberty lead the Finals.
The 80-77 victory moves the Liberty within one win of their first title in franchise history.
After dominating possession in the first two games, they found themselves playing catch-up Wednesday at Target Center.
They fell behind by as many as 15 in the first quarter and trailed by double digits almost the whole way until the middle of the third quarter.
An 8-0 run to end the period closed the gap to 62-61, setting up the furious fourth period.
Much of the comeback could be credited to Breanna Stewart. She scored 14 in the momentum-shifting third period.
Her 3 with 6:57 left tied the game at 66.
After Minnesota’s Kayla McBride ran down the other end to deliver a trey of her own, Stewart then drew a foul on the following possession on a jump shot for a three-point play to tie the game again.
In excitement, she turned to her bench, screaming over the effort.
After a nearly 4-minute stretch in which neither team could find the basket, the scoreboard stuck with a 71-69 Lynx lead.
Minnesota’s Courtney Williams broke the skid with a floater to forge a 73-69 edge. Then the Liberty really came to life.
Jonquel Jones drilled a 24-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead to 73-72, then followed with a layup to push the Liberty ahead, 74-73 — their first lead since 5-4 less than two minutes into the game.
After a defensive stop, a 24-footer by Ionescu grew the lead to 77-73.
But the Lynx weren’t done yet. Bridget Carleton hit a bucket and Napheesa Collier sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 77 with 16 seconds left — setting the stage for Ionescu’s heroics.
Stewart finished with 30 points. Jones, Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich each contributed 13. Collier had 22 for the Lynx, followed by McBride with 19.
The third-quarter turnaround was fueled by Stewart, who scored 14 points in the frame. She consistently went to the rim to draw fouls and eventually had a three-point play after drawing a foul from Williams to earn a 62-61 crawl back.
Prior to Game 3, the Lynx emphasized that they needed to punch first after constantly trailing the Liberty in the first two games. In the first few minutes, it was evident they had the control they wanted.
After having the lead for only 3:17 across the first two games, the Lynx went on an early 8-0 run to pull ahead by nine, 14-5.
McBride had two back-to-back 3-pointers — one off a steal from Fiebich as she was double-teamed and fell to the floor. On the following possession, Ionescu made a bad pass for a turnover, and after two offensive rebounds, Collier made a jumper to force a Liberty timeout.
The Lynx continued their tear, leading by as many as 15 points through the opening frame thanks to eight Liberty turnovers leading to 14 Lynx points.
Minnesota was relentless on defense, forcing multiple jump balls and racking up seven steals.
The Lynx closed out the first quarter with a 28-18 lead, marking the lowest Liberty output in an opening quarter in these playoffs — they scored more than 30 in the first two games of the Finals.
The Liberty were treading water in the second period, watching the deficit wobble between seven and 13 points before closing the half down 43-35.
Then came Stewart and the third-quarter rally, followed by Ionescu’s long-range game-winner, ending with a 2-1 lead in the Finals with a chance to capture the championship trophy in Game 4 on Friday.