The fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream defeated the eighth-seeded New York Liberty 85-83 on Friday night at Barclays Center, completing a three-game sweep of the semifinal series and advancing to the WNBA Finals. Atlanta improved to 5-0 in the postseason and won without Allisha Gray, who was out for the second straight game.
Angel Reese led the Dream with 22 points and nine rebounds, Rhyne Howard scored 21 and Jordin Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists without a turnover. DeWanna Bonner added 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Izzy Borlase scored 10 off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting. Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart each scored 26 for New York, with Jones adding 14 rebounds and three blocks.
“We just feel great that we were able to make the last couple plays, and that we get to be moving on to the Finals,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said.
Atlanta led 25-18 after the first quarter and took a 44-39 lead into halftime. The Dream scored the first seven points of the third quarter to build their largest lead at 51-39. New York answered by outscoring Atlanta 29-15 over the rest of the period and carried a 68-66 lead into the fourth.
The Liberty scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to go ahead 71-66, their largest lead of the night. Atlanta outscored New York 19-12 from there, and the Liberty finished with 15 points in the quarter, their fewest of any period.
“We talked about that from day one in training camp,” Reese said. “We wrote that down in our notebooks about the value of one, and Karl preached that every possession is going to matter.”
The Dream led 83-81 when Leonie Fiebich came up with a steal with 20 seconds left, and New York called timeout with 17 seconds remaining. Stewart drove on Naz Hillmon and missed from close range with nine seconds left. Bonner grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with six seconds remaining for an 85-81 lead. Sabrina Ionescu missed a three-pointer, and Stewart scored on the putback at the buzzer for the final margin.
“I had Naz backing up, obviously a good defender, but I felt like I was able to elevate and get my head on the rim,” Stewart said. “I need to just have a little bit better touch when you’re going off the backboard. That’s the shot that I want to take.”
Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco agreed. “She got downhill. Thought it was a good look,” he said. “We’ll do that every single time.”
Hillmon did not score in nearly 32 minutes, but Reese credited her work on Stewart. “She played great defense as best as she could on Stewie,” Reese said. “You need players like that on your team that just really get it and understand it.”
New York shot 43.5% from the field to Atlanta’s 40.6% and held a 24-9 advantage in second chance points. The Dream made up the difference at the free throw line, where they went 22-of-24 (91.7%), and with the ball, committing eight turnovers to New York’s 11 and holding a 12-7 edge in points off turnovers. Reese and Canada combined to go 3-of-5 from three-point range. Stewart made all 13 of her free throws, Ionescu scored her 12 points on four three-pointers and Marine Fauthoux added nine off the bench. The game featured seven lead changes and five ties.
“A little bit of disbelief,” Jones said of the final seconds. “This is just a tough pill to swallow.”
DeMarco, in his first season with the Liberty, said he expects to return next year. Asked whether they hope he does, Jones, Ionescu and Stewart each said the decision is not theirs.
“Our players fought like hell,” DeMarco said. “As far as the fight, the attention to detail and the effort, it was all there.”
Reese will play in the WNBA Finals for the first time. “The job is not done,” she said. “We’re definitely happy about where we are right now, but we’re not satisfied.”
Atlanta now waits for its opponent. “We’re playing really well,” Smesko said, “but we will make the most of this time to be as prepared as we can be, whoever our opponent is.”
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