Sabrina Ionescu, wearing her warmup jacket, sat next to Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart on Wednesday night as they sat and watched Game 2 come to a tormenting end.

The benching wasn’t the reward for their labor over the past three quarters but the result of a rout in front of their fans as the Liberty waved the white flag entering the fourth.

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The Mercury delivered a decisive 86-60 blow , which was the Liberty’s most lopsided loss of the season and second-worst playoff defeat in franchise history.

The Mercury’s success sent the first-round series back to Phoenix for a winner-takes-all Game 3 on Fri

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