Sabrina Ionescu tied a franchise playoff record with 36 points and the New York Liberty beat the Atlanta Dream 91-82 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.

Jonquel Jones added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the top-seeded Liberty, who swept the best-of-three series and will face either Las Vegas or Seattle in the next round that begins Sunday in New York.

The Liberty took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter and the teams went back and forth before a layup by Courtney Vandersloot made it 75-72 with 5:41 left and started a 12-2 run. Breanna Stewart followed later in the spurt by swooping in for an offensive tip-in. It was her first points since the second quarter.

Leonie Fiebich, who scored 21 points in the opening game, then had a three-point play to extend the advantage to 82-74 with 4:11 left. She then hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to give New York a double-digit advantage for the first time in the game.

Atlanta couldn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.

Aces close out Storm, in for 6th playoff show

Kelsey Plum scored 29 points, A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and the Las Vegas Aces closed out the Seattle Storm 83-76 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Las Vegas, which has won 11 straight home games in the playoffs, swept the best-of-three series to set up a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals against top-seeded New York starting Sunday. The Aces are trying to become the first team to win three titles in a row since Houston won four straight from 1997-2000 in the league’s first four seasons.

Wilson set a WNBA record by recording 20-plus points and at least 10 rebounds in 13 career playoff games, passing Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker. The WNBA MVP, who missed her first six shots in Game 1, went 5 of 7 from the field in the first quarter and finished 9 of 17.

Sparks coach out after 2 losing seasons

Curt Miller is leaving as coach of the Los Angeles Sparks after the WNBA franchise missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and second under him.

The team announced Miller’s dismissal, saying the sides had “mutually agreed to part ways.”

The Sparks, who own three WNBA championships, will begin their search for a new coach immediately.

The team was a league-worst 8-32 this season while enduring a series of injures, including to rookie Cameron Brink. They were 25-55 in Miller’s two seasons at the helm. This season, Dearica Hamby earned All-Star honors and The Associated Press Most Improved Player award.

MLB

Braves’ Riley won’t be healed for the playoffs

Austin Riley’s broken right hand will keep him sidelined for the playoffs if the Atlanta Braves get there.

A CT scan Monday revealed that the slugging third baseman’s injury had not healed sufficiently.

“It just wasn’t healing enough to think that he could come back this year,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Riley was hit by a 97 mph fastball from Jack Kochanowicz of the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 18. He was projected to miss the rest of the regular season, but there was hope if the Braves advanced deep enough into the playoffs, Riley could return.

Sterling, 86, back on air for Yankees

John Sterling returned to the New York Yankees’ radio broadcast booth on Tuesday night, five months after announcing his retirement.

Sterling had retired in April, a few weeks into his 36th season. He was back working with partner Suzyn Waldman on the WFAN broadcast for the start of the team’s final regular-season homestand.

Sterling, who turned 86 on July 4, intends to work the rest of the regular season and all postseason Yankees games.

NFL

Panthers WR Thielen out at least 4 weeks

The Carolina Panthers will be without wide receiver Adam Thielen for at least four weeks after the veteran was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Thielen was injured while extending to make a diving touchdown catch near the end of the second quarter of Carolina’s 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The 34-year-old did not return in the second half.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Pac-12 files suit over ‘poaching’ penalties

The Pac-12 is suing the Mountain West over what it calls an unlawful and unenforceable “poaching penalty” that would cost the rebuilding conference more than $40 million for adding Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

The antitrust complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California and is seeking a declaratory judgment by a judge.

The Mountain West has exit fees of upward of $17 million for departing schools. Those fees can increase depending on how much advance notice a school provides, and are not at issue in the lawsuit.

The Pac-12 is challenging poaching fees that were put in place in the Mountain West’s football scheduling agreement for this season with Oregon State and Washington State, the only current Pac-12 members this season.

BRIEFLY

NBA >> Al McCoy, who was the radio voice of the Phoenix Suns for more than a half-century, has died. He was 91.

MLB >> Clayton Kershaw is in “a holding pattern” and there are currently no plans for the Dodgers’ three-time Cy Young Award winner to face hitters as he tries to overcome a toe injury.

NWSL >> Bay FC and San Francisco announced plans for a dedicated training facility for the National Women’s Soccer League club on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

— From news services