Betnijah Laney-Hamilton provides spark in Liberty’s 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 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.

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

Seattle couldn’t get within seven 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.

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

Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 21 points and Gabby 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.