MINNEAPOLIS — Sabrina Ionescu hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key with one second left and Breanna Stewart scored 30 points to help the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-77 and 2-1 on Wednesday night to take the lead in the WNBA Finals.

With the game tied 77-77, Ionescu had the ball and dribbled around before taking a few steps behind the arc and scoring from 28 feet to break the tie.

“I didn’t really remember it. I had to watch the video real quick and see how far I was,” Ionescu said. “In the timeout, Sandy (Brondello) said, 'You're going to take the shot.' I feel like I managed to get a small gap in range. Take a really good snapshot now. I let the shot clock expire and got space.”

The Liberty erased a 15-point deficit to fall one win short of their first title. Game 4 will take place on Friday evening in Minnesota, with the decisive fifth game taking place on Sunday in New York if necessary.

Stewart, a Cicero-North Syracuse graduate, scored 22 of his 45 points in the second half.

• “Unrivaled” Women’s 3-on-3 Basketball League Co-Founder Breanna Stewart Gets TV Deal

“We won’t win this game without Stewie,” Ionescu said. “There's nothing I can say. The shot is nice, but what (Stewart) was able to do for us tonight got us back in the game.”

Minnesota had no real chance to get to the buzzer.

“A great player made a good shot,” Minnesota guard Kayla McBride said. “I guarded her for 40 minutes.”

The Liberty have been to the finals five times, including last season, and lost each time.

Trailing 73-69 with 2:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Liberty scored eight straight points, including the first five from Jonquel Jones. Ionescu, who had a relatively quiet game, hit another three-pointer after a Lynx miss to increase the lead to 77-73 with 55.5 minutes left.

Bridget Carleton got the Lynx within 77-75 with a layup 21 seconds later. On New York's next possession, Ionescu had a 3-point shot in the middle of the basket before diving out and Minnesota got the rebound. Napheesa Collier was then fouled with 16 seconds left and shot both free throws to equalize and set up the exciting conclusion.

Collier finished with 22 points and Kayla McBride had 19 for Minnesota.

The Lynx flipped the script from the first two games and built a double-digit lead in the first half. Minnesota, which led for just over three minutes in the first two contests, was ahead 60-50 with 2:28 left in the third quarter before the Liberty closed the score to 62-61 at the end of the quarter. Stewart scored the final five points, including a three-point play with 19 seconds left.

She then scored New York's first eight points of the fourth quarter and tied the game with another three-point play at 6:18.

Twelve seconds later, Carleton tied the game with two free throws. Neither team would score again until Courtney Williams hit a baseline pullup with 2:26 left, giving the Lynx a four-point lead.