Sabrina Ionescu, Nyara Sabally Come Up Big in New York Liberty Rally

Jones, who won the WNBA Finals MVP award last season, scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as she returned, too, from injury. Sabrina Ionescu led the 10-1 Liberty with 34 points, while Breanna Stewart added 23.

While Sabally struggled to score, she proved her mettle on the defensive side. She managed to get a key third-quarter steal from Atlanta's Rhyne Howard and the Liberty turned that into a fastbreak basket. This set the stage for the Liberty's big comeback.

Brondello expressed joy in seeing  Sabally back on court

Brondello was very impressed with Sabally's effort against the Dream.

"We think her ceiling is so high, and it's just about keeping her healthy," Brondello said, according to Sports Illustrated. 

"I overplayed her in that last game [on Saturday against Indiana], so today was just about limiting her minutes, sharing with JJ (Jonquel Jones), because I didn't want to kill her either. She hasn't played for a while, but we believe in her, and she's got this big, physical body."

Allisha Gray had 14 points for the Dream (7-3), while Brionna Jones and Howard added 13 each.

Sabally was happy to be out there on the court with Jones.

"It was cool," she said after the game. "I always like playing with [Jones] together on the floor. I feel like it makes stuff easier for me. There's so much focus on her, so I always enjoy playing with her."

The Liberty now have a Thursday night matchup against the Phoenix Mercury. For Nyara, it's also going to bring about a reunion with her sister Satou, who plays for Phoenix, at Barclays Center.