The Liberty have answered.

Ahead of the win-or-go-home Game 3, Jonquel Jones said the Liberty needed to “prove that we belong,” and to do so, they needed to “throw the first punch.”

That they did on Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center, looking like their usual version to push the Aces’ title chances back another game in an 87-73 victory to keep the Liberty’s hopes alive in their first WNBA Finals since 2002.

Jones led the Liberty with 27 points, followed by Breanna Stewart with a double-double (20 points and 12 rebounds) in front of a loud Liberty crowd featuring Sue Bird, Jason Sudeikis, Tony Parker, Aubrey Plaza, and Robin Roberts.

Aces starting point guard Chelsea Gray left the game due to injury in the fourth quarter and reportedly needed crutches following the final buzzer.

The Liberty’s offensive movement and strong defense returned, giving a new energy to the superteam final matchup that had been missing in the two blowout losses prior.

Things were clicking.

The defense double-teamed the Aces guards before they hit the paint, limiting them greatly and forcing awry passes.

Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot were finally finding their shots after dismal outputs in both Game 1 and Game 2, scoring nine and 12 points, respectively.