Sabrina Ionescu crowns the exciting rally with a game-winning shot and brings Liberty to the brink of the WNBA title

A huge Liberty deficit amazingly turned into a four-point lead in the final minute.

But the real eye-catcher was yet to come.

After the Lynx grabbed a late tie in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night, Sabrina Ionescu threw a 28-footer with less than three seconds left – just short of the logo.

Nothing but net. Liberty victory. Liberty leads the final.

With the 80-77 win, the Liberty are just one win away from their first title in franchise history.

After dominating possession in the first two games, they had to play catch-up on Wednesday at Target Center.

They fell by as much as 15 points in the first quarter and remained behind by double digits most of the way through the middle of the third quarter.

An 8-0 run at the end of the quarter closed the deficit to 62:61 and initiated the furious fourth third.

Much of the comeback is thanks to Breanna Stewart. She scored 14 points in the decisive third period.

Her 3 with 6:57 left tied the game at 66.

After Minnesota's Kayla McBride drained a three-pointer on the other end, Stewart drew a foul on a jump shot on the following possession for a three-point play that tied the game again.

In her excitement she turned to her bench and screamed from the exertion.

After a nearly four-minute stretch in which neither team could find the basket, the scoreboard read a Lynx lead of 71-69.

Minnesota's Courtney Williams broke the skid with a floater to secure a 73-69 lead. Then the Liberty really came to life.

Jonquel Jones hit a 24-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead to 73-72, followed by a layup to put the Liberty ahead 74-73 – their first lead since 5-4 two minutes after the start of the game.

After a defensive stop, a 24-foot shot from Ionescu extended the lead to 77-73.

But the Lynx weren't done yet. Bridget Carleton scored a basket and Napheesa Collier sank two free throws to tie the game at 77-77 with 16 seconds left – setting the stage for Ionescu's heroics.

Stewart finished with 30 points. Jones, Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich contributed 13 each. Collier had 22 for the Lynx, followed by McBride with 19.

The third quarter turnaround was driven by Stewart, who scored 14 points in the frame. She constantly went to the rim to collect fouls and finally made a three-point play after picking up a foul from Williams, giving her a 62-61 deficit.

Heading into Game 3, the Lynx emphasized that they had to bat first after consistently trailing the Liberty in the first two games. It was clear from the first few minutes that they had the control they wanted.

After leading for just 3:17 minutes in the first two games, the Lynx went on an early 8-0 run to take a 14-5 lead by nine minutes.

McBride had two consecutive 3-pointers – one after a steal from Fiebich when 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 jumped to force a Liberty timeout.

The Lynx continued their winning streak, leading by as many as 15 points in the first frame thanks to eight Liberty turnovers that led to 14 Lynx points.

Minnesota was relentless on defense, forcing multiple jump balls and getting seven steals.

The Lynx finished the first quarter with a 28-18 lead, marking the lowest Liberty performance in an opening quarter of these playoffs – they scored more than 30 points in the first two games of the Finals.

The Liberty were on point in the second period, watching the deficit fluctuate between seven and 13 points before ending the half trailing 43-35.

Then came Stewart and the third-quarter surge, followed by Ionescu's game-winning goal from long range that ended with a 2-1 lead in the finale and a chance to win the championship trophy in Game 4 on Friday.