Sabrina Ionescu draws a foul and takes a few dribbles before throwing a one-footed 3-pointer. It doesn’t count, but of course the shot goes in.

For Ionescu it was such an evening.

And as the ball falls through the net, an enthusiastic fan is picked up via a microphone.

“I love you Sab!” the fan screams.

It was that kind of night for Liberty fans, too. The kind of night they had Ionescu to thank for. The guard scored 36 points, tying Cappie Pondexter’s Liberty postseason record and powering New York to a 91-82 win over Atlanta to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Ionescu also had 9 assists, 3 steals and only 2 turnovers.

“I just do what it takes to win,” Ionescu said. “Understanding that I can score, but knowing that my teammates can get open and give them good looks is a big part of what I do.”

The Liberty needed Ionescu’s all-around performance to beat the Dream, plus a 20-point, 13-rebound effort from Jonquel Jones and 13 points from Breanna Stewart.

The Dream were annoying, especially in the first half, when they led by as many as 11 points. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello asked her team to hurry, not wanting to go to Atlanta for Game 3, and under Ionescu, Liberty responded.

New York defeated Atlanta 48-34 in the second half.

“We want to play well in the next round, and I think this game really prepared us,” Brondello said. “Atlanta played great. That was probably one of the best games they’ve played this season. We had to work hard for everything we got.”

With 2:22 left in the fourth quarter, Ionescu drove to the hoop, found a path between defenders and pulled up for a runner. Ionescu twisted her body and found the perfect angle, sending the ball flying off the backboard and giving her team an 87-78 lead.

Ionescu established herself as a 3-point shooter last season, making 44.8 percent of her attempts and winning the 3-point contest at the All-Star Game by making all but one shot. But this season, it’s Ionescu’s play from inside the arc that’s special. In 2023, she made 38 percent of her two-point attempts, a number that has risen to 46 percent this season.

“I think Sab is someone who you can tell has worked hard to get better,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said. “She’s done a great job. Not only has she been able to make 3-pointers, but she’s a three-level shooter, at the rim, in the midrange and beyond the arc.”

Against Atlanta, Ionescu scored 21 of her 36 points at the rim, in the midrange or at the free-throw line, where she was 7 of 7. In the second half, Ionescu’s intent to get to the rim intensified. She scored 23 of her points in the half and took just two 3-pointers during the third and fourth quarters.

“My focus was on going downhill, getting some easy shots,” she said. “We got stops on defense and we ran. At the end of the second quarter, we got a little 3-point joy. … That was kind of the point where I was like, ‘I’ve got to get in the paint.'”

Ionescu’s decision saw Liberty come back and her team went from a five-point deficit at the start of the third quarter to a one-point lead at the end of the final quarter.

There was a time when Ionescu might have continued to shoot ill-advised 3-pointers. In 2023, 62.6 percent of her offense came from long range, while that percentage has dropped to 46.5 percent this season. Her decision-making and ability to score off the bounce are among the many improvements Ionescu has made during the off-season.

“She takes what the defense gives her,” Jones said. “She can impact the game in so many different ways. It’s all about playing the game and trusting your teammates, and she does a great job of that. It opens everything up for us, because the defense doesn’t really know what to do.”

And while a deep 3-pointer has previously generated a stir with the crowd, this time it was Ionescu’s overall impact that kept Liberty fans riveted. In the third quarter, when Ionescu didn’t even attempt a long-range shot, she got a ride from one of New York’s most famous sports fans.

As she walked to the sideline for an inbounds play, Spike Lee extended his hand for a high-five.

“I felt like all of New York was being injected into me,” Ionescu said, laughing. “And at that moment I thought, ‘We’re winning this game.'”