As good as yesterday was for New York, tonight was more sour than a $20 Times Square hot dog. The blow came just 24 hours after Sabrina Ionescu dropped 29 and Jonquel Jones powered home a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in an 89–76 win over the Phoenix Mercury. It was New York’s fifth straight. So naturally, the Liberty walked into tonight’s matchup as 83.1% favorites, per ESPN. On paper, it was supposed to be another routine W. However, one foul might have flipped the script for the night.
The first gut punch, though? It came when Breanna Stewart went down just three minutes in. She exited the game with three points and a rebound, limping to the locker room. However, to an extent, Sabrina Ionescu did carry the entire city on her shoulders. She went pouring in 30 and tying the game at 99 with a cold-blooded elbow jumper with just 23.1 seconds left.
But it was not enough to make up for what happened with 3:10 left in the third quarter. At that mark, Ionescu drilled a huge three… only to watch it vanish from the scoreboard when officials ruled Jonquel Jones set an illegal screen. The call sent Ionescu into a full-on rage with her hands thrown halfway up, barking “T me!” about 5 times, at the refs. She practically dared them to hit her with a technical.
They obliged. Although Kelsey Plum missed the ensuing free throw, the damage was already done. That single erased bucket changed everything. New York ultimately fell short by just two; that one whistle loomed larger than any shot on the floor. And the NY fans didn’t take up any time to realize that, here’s what they had to say…
Not Just the Refs, Fans Call Foul on Sabrina Ionescu
It all started when someone on X (formerly Twitter) posted, “Sabrina Ionescu was not asking to be T’d up. She was DEMANDING it .” They caught the body language perfectly. And fans did too, which is why they let this moment slide the way they did back on July 8. When Sabrina Ionescu picked up a technical against the Las Vegas Aces. With 4:59 left in the fourth quarter of that heated battle, the Liberty were trailing by just one.
Sabrina Ionescu was not asking to be T’d up – she was DEMANDING it pic.twitter.com/0SECQI6gZQ
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) July 27, 2025
Sabrina Ionescu drove hard to the basket and drew contact with the Aces guard Chelsea Gray. As she came down from her shot, her arms swung upward and appeared to hit Gray in the face. It looked unintentional, but the officials saw it differently. They straight-up slapped Ionescu with a technical foul. Gray calmly knocked down the technical free throw before Ionescu took her two shots from the original foul. And the fans weren’t happy about the arrangement.
Back then, they wrote, “What a terrible call to give her a tech.” Tonight, though, the reaction was anything but supportive. One person summed up the mood with, “Unfortunately for her it was an easy. Good call… was easily a moving, illegal screen. Wait & get a tech on a bad call at least!” Maybe they are right this time, because cameras captured it clearly that Jonquel Jones did have an illegal screen foul in the third. As the person said, “That’s just an embarrassing temper tantrum!!!”
Another critic echoed the same thoughts, “Should of gotten one.” And they analyzed it just like us by calling out, “Lost the game because of it too.” Amid all the pile-on, one voice pushed back. They called out what they saw as inconsistent standards across leagues: “That wouldn’t be called in the NBA & LAX has gotten away with same or worse!” Although that last defender might have conveniently forgotten some history. Like when Lance Stephenson got T’d up just for breaking out his air guitar or when Tim Duncan was famously slapped with a technical for laughing on the bench.
Another supporter called her “queen.” Probably for standing up for what she believed in. That behaviour summed up when one person wrote, ““I do what I want” now where have I heard that one before…” Were they referring to Lil Uzi Vert’s song or Sabrina Ionescu’s on-court antics? not hard to guess. Another comparison rose when a person called Sabrina “The Gavin Newsom of wnba.” Being the Governor of California, he’s known to always call out things; if that’s true, the comparison fits well this time.
Another comparison surfaced that might ruffle a few feathers: “Her and Caitlin Clark are the same person,” one fan declared. In reality, outside of both being the star guards for their respective franchises, the two don’t share much beyond their stat sheets. Still, when Clark was sidelined by a string of injuries that forced her to miss the Commissioner’s Cup, All-Star Weekend, and several marquee matchups, Ionescu found a way to connect.
“I mean, obviously, completely different injuries, and in terms of how long I was out for. I didn’t really have a rookie year, but I told her I had a similar situation,” Ionescu said. “You sometimes have to almost go through it to be able to understand what your body needs, and you’re able to understand what you can play through and what you can’t. Although it sucks, it’s gonna be a blessing in disguise.”
Beyond the pep talk, the two also now share new record. In Saturday’s loss, Ionescu became just the fourth player in WNBA history to post at least 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in a single game. With that stat, she joined Caitlin Clark, Candace Parker, and Brandy Reed. If that’s enough to label them “the same person,” we’ll leave that call to you. But one thing is for sure: both know how to make noise, whether they’re on the court or watching from the sidelines.
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