As things stand, Breanna Stewart and the Liberty could be doing this in their sleep.
The Liberty, who are quickly morphing into a juggernaut, comfortably handled the Atlanta Dream in a 95-84 win, their fourth straight, at Barclays Center on Thursday night.
The Eastern Conference leaders won for the eighth time in 10 games and improved to 18-5 as resident superstar Stewart rained down 33 points and added 12 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.
“I think you see the connections that we have,” head coach Sandy Brondello said. “Through the good and the bad, we’re staying together as a team, we’re working, we’re finding ways to work it out. And it doesn’t mean it’s always 40 minutes of pure beauty, but it’s basketball, isn’t it?
“You’re gonna learn from all those experiences.”
The Liberty improved to 3-1 this season against the Dream (13-11).
Atlanta beat them 86-79 on June 13 when the Liberty were missing Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart had an uncharacteristic 1-for-14 night.
There was no shakiness from a magnificent Stewart on Thursday.
She became the first player in WNBA history with 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a half after the first two quarters as the Liberty never trailed.
Another bright spot was 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth consecutive double-double.
She has established herself as a crucial frontcourt presence for the Liberty this season.
Ionescu, fresh off a ceremonial first pitch strike at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night, only took eight shots, but scored 12 points.
She also cracked the Dream’s defense with brilliant passing, dishing out nine assists to lead the Liberty.
“Teams are guarding Sab in a lot of different ways,” Stewart said. “She’s realizing that and understanding that and when two come to her she’s finding JJ or myself and we’re able to kind of finish the play — and I said sorry because I probably missed a shot which she could have got 10 [assists].”
The Liberty wasted no time establishing themselves, jumping to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter powered by hot starts from Stewart and Jones, who had seven and eight points, respectively.
Atlanta eventually clawed back to striking distance, shrinking the lead to five points at the end of the third quarter on the back of guard Allisha Gray, whose 25 points led the Dream.
But that was as close as the Dream got after the first quarter.
The Liberty’s fearsome offensive engine, which ranks second in the league with a 107.6 offensive rating, kept churning to keep the game out of reach.
“I think we’re very efficient,” Brondello said. “When we get out and run in transition, I think that’s certainly helping us in generating it from defense, we get to the free-throw line. … I think we just got a lot of versatility in the way that we play and are capable of playing.”
The schedule gets no easier from here.
The Liberty will host Minnesota on Friday night in the second leg of a back-to-back.
They will follow that with a three-game road swing next week, featuring two games at the Los Angeles Sparks and one at Minnesota.
“We just have the mindset of no excuses,” Stewart said. “This is the way that our schedule is and this is what we have in front of us.”
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