NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones scored 18 points in her return from an ankle injury, and the New York Liberty beat the Indiana Fever 98-84 on Tuesday night.
Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich each scored 17, Sabrina Ionescu had 13 points and nine assists, and Isabelle Harrison also had 13 points to help the Liberty (15-6) beat the Fever for the second straight time. New York beat Indiana 98-77 last Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points to lead the Fever (12-11), which again played without Caitlin Clark (groin injury).
New York struggled in the first half with Ionescu and Stewart scoring three points and six points, respectively — an anomaly for the duo that averages 18 and 19 points per game. Ionescu was held scoreless in the second and third quarters, spending most of the third on the bench.
The Fever led 46-42 at halftime, capitalizing on Liberty turnovers to grab the thin lead. They held on to that advantage for most of the third quarter, until Stewart made a 3-pointer and a layup to put the Liberty back on top in the final minutes of the quarter.
Ionescu’s return in the fourth helped solidify the momentum moving in New York’s direction. She scored 10 straight points for the Liberty coming off the bench, opening the first double-digit lead of the night.
Jones had been out since June 19th.
Clark missed her second straight game while recovering from an injury to her right groin.
The Fever’s star guard also was absent from the team’s game against the Liberty before the All-Star break. She was supposed to compete in the 3-point contest as well as Saturday’s All-Star Game, but missed both events.
Clark told reporters on Saturday night that she had been getting treatment during the festivities, which took place in Indianapolis.
She was injured in the final minute of last Tuesday’s victory at Connecticut.
Clark went to see a doctor in New York, according to Fever coach Stephanie White. White said she hadn’t talked to the trainers between shootaround and the game to get an update on how the doctor’s appointment went.
Barclays Center was full of fans, many of whom wore Clark’s No. 22 jerseys.
The second-year player missed 10 games during the first half of the season with three different muscle injuries.
Clark never missed a game because of injury during her college career at Iowa or last season when she was selected the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year.
The two-time All-Star is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season for a team that was expected to contend for a league championship. However, Clark’s injuries and other obstacles have kept the Fever hovering near the middle of the standings with a 12-11 mark.
“These soft tissue injuries, sometimes nag until you can actually have time to really allow to heal in the offseason,” White said.
