WNBA playoffs 2022: Kahleah Copper fuels No. 2 Sky in record playoff margin, forces Game 3 in New York
James Wade repeated it twice at the end of an exchange with reporters asking about Kahleah Copper, who left the practice court on Friday with an apparent injury less than 24 hours before an elimination game.
"We are fine," the Chicago Sky head coach and general manager said. "She's fine," he said about Copper, the 2021 Finals MVP.
And the reigning champions were certainly collectively fine in Game 2 while torching the New York Liberty, 100-62, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Saturday. The winner-take-all Game 3 will be played Tuesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The 38-point win is a record for margin of victory for a WNBA playoff game. The previous mark was set by the Sky in its 36-point win over the Phoenix Mercury in the Game 3 of the 2021 WNBA Finals. They went on to win Game 4 for the trophy.
Copper sunk a 3-pointer on the first possession to kick off the Sky's offensive onslaught and the defense turned back-to-back turnovers into buckets. She took some hard hits in Game 1 and in practice on Friday hit the floor hard again coming off a screen. She had to be helped off the court by Sky staff and did not put weight on her right leg as she went back to the trainers, the Chicago Sun-Times' Annie Costabile reported.
She was seen limping after exiting the trainer's room and said "yes," when asked if she was OK, Costabile reported. Wade said everything was fine after insisting "nothing happened" to be asking about.
And the Sky's leading scorer did indeed seem unaffected on Saturday with 20 points hitting 50% of her attempts and 2-of-3 3-pointers. She added three rebounds, three steals and an assist in 22 minutes. Her early energy and finishes set the tone.
Courtney Vandersloot added 16 points (7-of-10), nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Candace Parker neared a double-double by halftime and finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Emma Meesseman and Allie Quigley scored eight each. Meeseman, the 2019 Finals MVP with the Mystics who was quiet in Game 1, added six rebounds, four assists and one steal. Quigley had eight assists and two steals.
How the Sky won Game 2
The Sky burst into Game 2 like a fighter jet playing for their playoff lives and didn't once let up on either side of the ball. It got so out of hand that late in the third quarter, ESPN play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco randomly noted each of the Sky starters had a point total divisible by eight.
Yes, he said, these are the things you notice in a 30-plus point blowout.
Chicago's suffocating defense kept up, as did the Sky's clear path to the basket, and by the second quarter it was a 31-10 drubbing. Copper had 10 points, as many as five Liberty players combined for, on 4-of-8 shooting including two made 3s.
The Liberty could barely get a clean look and rookie (but longtime professional overseas) Rebekah Gardner once again kept tight to Sabrina Ionescu, preventing her from moving the ball around or creating her own looks. Ionescu was efficient (3-of-5) but didn't have enough attempts to be effective and finished with seven points, five rebounds and three of the team's 15 assists. They average 20 and the Sky racked up 28.
Seven Sky players combined for six steals in the quarter. They had 14 from those seven players by game's end.
The Sky led, 52-28, at half and the Liberty had turned the ball over 13 times en route to 19 total turnovers. They average 15.5 turnovers per game in the regular season and only had eight in Game 1. Chicago led by as many as 31 before a 9-2 Liberty run to close the frame.
Chicago put its second-best offense on display and the 21-point first-quarter deficit was too much for New York to overcome. A 31-16 third quarter didn't help at all and starters hit the bench in the fourth. Only 6-foot-10 center Han Xu reached double-digits for the Liberty with 10 off the bench and five rebounds.
Sky, Liberty keys to Game 3
Another game like Saturday's and the Sky will be back in the semifinals against the winner of No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Dallas (the Sun lead, 1-0).
Their defensive intensity, particularly early, was the key and they kept the Liberty from hitting from outside. New York was 11-of-25 in Game 1, covering the difference in a seven-point win. They missed all six 3-pointers in the first quarter and were 3-of-20 (15%) by the final horn.
New York needs to wipe this out of their minds and re-group. Sandy Brondello told the team in a huddle to take some pride and keep fighting, a good thing to keep in mind over the next few days. The Liberty will have the advantage of a home-court crowd and have the clutch-shooting Ionescu. They'll need to help her out of double-teams, move the ball around more and knock down shots early for a chance.
Sky vs. Liberty series schedule
Game 1: Liberty 98, Sky 91
Game 2: Sky 100, Liberty 62
Game 3 (Tuesday): Chicago at New York, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
