The Atlanta Dream held off the New York Liberty 101-98 in overtime on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena, taking a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five WNBA semifinal.
We interviewed a fan who said it was a thriller. “One of the best games I ever been to,” said Tosha Phillips, who lives in Vinings. “Men, women, all of them — this was the best game. The atmosphere was electric.”
Atlanta won despite missing leading scorer Allisha Gray, who was ruled out with a left-hand injury suffered in Game 1. Jordin Canada and Angel Reese each scored 23 points, and the Dream forced 16 turnovers while committing only seven of their own.
Dream Beat Liberty, Go Up 2-0 in WNBA Semifinal
New York, the No. 8 seed that had already eliminated the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round, shot 55 percent from the field and got 35 points and 11 rebounds from Breanna Stewart, but could not close the game in regulation.
The teams were tied 26-26 after the first quarter. Atlanta edged ahead 56-54 at halftime, then the Liberty outscored the Dream 20-19 in the third to take a one-point lead into the fourth. New York managed only 14 points in the fourth before Marine Fauthoux’s late three tied the game at 88 and forced overtime. Jonquel Jones hit a three in the extra period to put New York ahead 96-93, but Atlanta scored the final stretch of the overtime, outscoring the Liberty 13-10 to finish it.
Canada finished 9-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three, with eight assists and five rebounds in 39 minutes. Reese added seven rebounds and two blocks on 8-of-16 shooting. Rhyne Howard played all 44 minutes and scored 18 points with seven rebounds and four assists, though she shot only 5-of-20. Naz Hillmon contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Off the bench, Isobel Borlase scored 11 points and hit three threes.
Stewart was the game’s high scorer at 35 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 11-of-13 from the line, adding six assists and two blocks. Jones had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on 8-of-11 shooting. Fauthoux scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three. Sabrina Ionescu had 10 points and seven assists.
Atlanta shot only 40 percent overall but went 21-of-23 from the free-throw line and matched New York with 12 made threes. The win was the Dream’s second straight in the series after a 92-82 Game 1 victory on Sunday, also at State Farm Arena, and extended their postseason success after a first-round sweep of Washington. It is Atlanta’s first semifinal appearance since 2018; the Dream finished the regular season 30-14 and first in the East.
The series moves to New York for Game 3 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday in New York. A potential Game 5 would return to Atlanta.