Twenty-four and zero.

That's the New York Liberty‘s regular-season record when Jonquel Jones records a double-double. And the record emphasizes a theme that needed to be reinforced since her arrival to New York: The Liberty are at its best when playing through Jones as the centerpiece of the offense.

The message — again — needed to be reinforced in Saturday’s comeback victory over the Indiana Fever. After building a comfortable 15-point lead, the Liberty found themselves down 12 with under nine minutes remaining in regulation.

The issue? The Liberty came out of halftime stagnant and settled for too many 3s instead of consistent ball movement with Jones as the centerpiece. In return, the Fever capitalized off empty possessions and charged on a run, led by Caitlin Clark.

“I just thought we’re taking — became one-on-one. That’s not our success,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said postgame. “It wasn’t a good show. I’m fine if it’s a great shot, but they weren’t good shots. They were contested shots. We didn’t get the extra pass, the movement. We were very stagnant. So it’s just ‘hey, get back to what we want to do.’

“We got some 3s out of it with our movement, JJ in pick and roll actions, I didn’t think we got enough, because they were late switching to and then finding some really high percentage baskets down low. But I thought our defense created our offense with our movement, and we executed better. Yeah, I love 3s as much as the other team, but I don’t like 3s where it’s just one pass and we’re missing and we’ve got to feel the game. We went away from our identity, but we came back to it, and that’s because these players are bright and they understand how we should be playing.”

They got back to their identity: feeding Jones and making sure she touched the ball on almost every possession during a fourth-quarter run. The Liberty roared back, regaining control on a 22-8 run to seize control of the game. Jones contributed 14 of those points, including two made 3-pointers while dominating Indiana’s Aliyah Boston in the paint as well. Jones finished the game with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while shooting 9 of 15 from the field.

The Fever altogether ended up scoring just 12 points in the final period, two less than Jones’ fourth-quarter total.

“Jonquel was great,” said Sabrina Ionescu, who logged 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. “We know what she’s capable of doing, and to be able to kind of be a part of her own run was really fun. Like I was just looking for her every time I could, believed in her shot and knew she was going to get some great looks.”

Jones added that disappearing in games — like she did in Saturday’s third quarter — is an “area of growth” for her from last year.

“I think sometimes I did get kind of out of the game, and I kind of felt myself slipping into that a little bit during halftime, and I kind of just kind of talked myself out of it and just understanding that, like there’s no room for that. And so, yeah, it’s just going out there, playing, trusting my teammates and trusting that we’re going to make the right plays for each other, because that’s what makes us successful as a team.”

Cloud is as advertised

While Jones carried her team out of a deficit, Natasha Cloud made sure to keep her team in front for the victory.

If Cloud’s first two Liberty games didn’t convince you of her perfect fit on the team, Saturday confirmed any leftover doubts. After totaling for 40 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists in the first two games of the season, Cloud stayed on pace against the Fever: 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks.

And she spent a majority of the win defending Clark, who scored 18 points but turned the ball over 10 times.

Cloud did it all: ran the floor, disrupted Indiana’s action and shut the door on the Fever with two game-saving plays.

The first came with the game tied with 10.1 seconds remaining. DeWanna Bonner looked to get just enough space to receive an inbounds pass and toss up a go-ahead floater that would’ve put her team up, 90-88. Then came Cloud, who swatted Bonner’s chance and sent the ball out of bounds with a second remaining on the shot clock. Kelsey Mitchell then missed a go-ahead jumper on the next possession.

After Ionescu made a pair of free throws to put the Liberty up two, the Fever called a reset timeout to advance the ball with 2.2 seconds remaining.

It was Clark time.

Clark received the inbounds pass from Sophie Cunningham, but couldn’t get a shot up after being hounded by Cloud. Cloud sized up the young star, reached in and swiped the ball away as time expired.

Win secured.

“Tash got the Freddy glove for the big stops at the end,” Jones said.

“And I think everyone knows what she brings to this team and why she’s so valuable offensively and defensively, and she does it every single night,” Ionescu said. “She plays with a lot of heart, and we know what we’re going to get from her. And I think that’s why everyone was so happy when she was able to come here and be a part of this team …”

Kennedy Burke gets even more important

Kennedy Burke’s role was expected to expand with Kayla Thornton‘s departure (expansion draft) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s season ending injury.

After Saturday, her role could get even bigger.

The Liberty departed Indiana with two more players suffering injuries. First, Nyara Sabally was a pregame scratch due to a right knee injury. Then Leonie Fiebich sat out the final nine minutes off the first half after injuring her left shin following a collision with Indiana’s Lexie Hull.

“Just got hit in the shin. Hit a nerve maybe. So that’s hard,” Brondello said about Fiebich, who never returned to the game after the collision. “She’s big for us, Leo, with what she brings. We already had Nyara [out], so [Jones] had to go a few more minutes tonight, and they all had to go a few more minutes. I think both teams there. But that’s how important this win is. This team, they want to win a championship, and so do we. So hopefully Leo will be OK.”

More forwards on the mend means more minutes for the positionless Burke. She was plus-10 while logging seven points, two assists, two rebounds and four turnovers in 28 minutes off the bench Friday. Burke misfired on a couple opportunities from deep (1 of 3 on 3-pointers) while shooting 2 of 4 from the field.

Even on a loaded roster, Burke could see more opportunities if Sabally and Fiebich spend more time on the bench. Her contributions could become more important in the early part of the season.

____

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.