Atlanta’s perfect postseason run continued Wednesday night before a raucous home crowd.
The Dream moved within one win of their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013 when Naz Hillmon’s go-ahead layup with just 20.8 seconds remaining in overtime lifted Atlanta to a 101-98 victory over the New York Liberty and a 2-0 lead in the semifinal series.
Angel Reese, the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, scored 23 points, including six of Atlanta’s 13 points in overtime. She then made two free throws with less than five seconds remaining after Sabrina Ionescu’s errant pass, helping the Dream hold off the defending champions. Jordin Canada also scored 23 points and added eight assists for Atlanta, which won Game 1, 92-82.
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Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 35 points, but she missed a desperation attempt on the game’s final play.
With the Liberty trailing 86-80 and less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Sabrina Ionescu buried a deep 3-pointer to cut Atlanta’s lead to three. An Atlanta shot-clock violation with 31 seconds left gave New York another opportunity, and Breanna Stewart finished a layup through traffic to make it 86-85.
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The Dream were already without Allisha Gray, their leading scorer, who was ruled out of Game 2 with a hand injury.
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Gray, a four-time All-Star, injured her left hand during the first quarter of Atlanta’s 92-82 Game 1 victory over the New York Liberty. She briefly returned to action after going to the locker room, but went down a second time after diving for a loose ball and did not return.
Wednesday marked the first game Gray had missed this season, but Atlanta received key contributions off the bench to shoulder the scoring burden.
Gray is listed as day-to-day ahead of Atlanta’s Game 3 matchup when the series shifts to New York on Friday.
Game 3 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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