Laney-Hamilton returns to starting lineup, helps Liberty to 77-70 win over Storm

NEW YORK (AP) — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 18 points in her return to the starting lineup and the New York Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 77-70 on Thursday night.

Laney-Hamilton returned from a right knee injury on Aug. 26 that sidelined her for roughly six weeks after she had surgery.

Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and Jonquel Jones had 15 and five blocks for the Liberty (28-6).

With the Liberty trailing 57-56 late in the third quarter, Laney-Hamilton sparked a 12-0 run that spanned the final two periods. She had seven points and two assists during that burst.

“I wanted to do whatever I could for my team,” Laney-Hamilton said. “Get ready for the playoffs.”

The Liberty had a couple days of practice after a West Coast trip. That helped Laney-Hamilton get re-acclimated with the starting group.

Breanna Stewart, who missed her first eight shots from the field, hit her first basket of the evening during that game-changing spurt and capped it with a 3-pointer. She had 13 of her 14 points in the second half.

Seattle couldn’t get within five the rest of the way.

The win moved the Liberty a step closer to clinching the top seed in the WNBA playoffs. New York has a 3 1/2-game lead over Connecticut and Minnesota with six games left to play. Seattle (20-14) trails Las Vegas by 1 1/2 games for the No. 4 seed.

“We have to be close to be perfect now,” said Gabby Williams of trying to get the No. 4 seed. “The mental lapses today can’t happen again for us to be in position we want to be in.”

The Liberty next play Las Vegas on Sunday at home in a WNBA Finals rematch.

Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 21 points and Williams added 17 for the Storm.

New York led 40-36 at the half behind a strong opening 20 minutes from Ionescu, Jones and Laney-Hamilton. Stewart had just one point in the half. Williams and Diggins-Smith each had 10 for Seattle.

The Liberty drew another strong crowd of celebrities that included Jason Sudeikis, Flavor Flav and Dwyane Wade.