Angel Reese scored 23 points, Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime and the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 101-98 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semi-finals.
Reese scored six of her team’s 13 points in overtime. She made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left after Sabrina Ionescu overthrew a pass as Atlanta moved within one win of their first WNBA finals appearance since 2013.
“I think we did a great job making sure that we were all on the connected stream,” Reese said. “We really stayed together and played together, and that’s how we won.”
Jordin Canada also scored 23 points and had eight assists for the Dream, who won Game 1 92-82.
Breanna Stewart scored 35 points, including 25 in the first half. She missed a desperation attempt on the final play after the Liberty did not use their reset to advance the ball, with Stewart saying after the game that officials told them they did not have one left.
New York host Game 3 on Friday.
With the Liberty trailing 86-80 with under two minutes remaining in regulation, Ionescu cut the deficit in half with a deep three-pointer. An Atlanta shot-clock violation with 31 seconds remaining opened the door for the Liberty to get closer, and Stewart hit a quick layup in traffic to make it 86-85.
After New York fouled to extend the game, Reese made both free throws to give the Dream an 88-85 lead with 14.5 seconds left. Marine Fauthoux hit the game-tying three-pointer with 10.3 seconds remaining, leaving Atlanta with one final possession. Rhyne Howard’s midrange floater rimmed out just before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
“We just had a message that we thought we could be the best team over the last five minutes, let’s start off by executing the first couple plays,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “Everybody was locked in on what those plays were, and they went out there and executed them.”
Atlanta scored the first five points of overtime before New York responded with the next eight, giving the Liberty a 96-93 lead. Canada and Reese scored the next two baskets to put Atlanta back in front, only for Stewart to respond with a basket of her own in a pulsating back-and-forth extra period.
Hillmon’s layup gave Atlanta the lead for good. The Dream forced a jump ball on New York’s first attempt at their final possession, only for the Liberty to win the tip and get another opportunity before Ionescu’s wayward pass.
“We’re not focused on winning three games straight right now,” Stewart said. “We’re focused on winning one game, and that’s Friday, and then we go from there. This group has experience. I’ve been part of some crazy series and I have a lot of confidence in our group.”
The Dream won without leading scorer Allisha Gray, who missed the game with a left hand injury. Izzy Borlase helped fill the void, with the rookie scoring 11 points off the bench.
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Las Vegas Aces 81-83 Golden State Valkyries
Veronica Burton hit a deep three-pointer to put Golden State ahead with 41 seconds left and converted two free throws in the closing seconds, Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points and the Valkyries held off the Las Vegas Aces 83-81 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five WNBA semi-final series.
In a wild finish, Jackie Young missed the second of two free throws with six seconds left to give Las Vegas one last chance. Chelsea Gray grabbed the rebound and drove under the basket for a layup attempt, but Kiah Stokes blocked the shot and Burton corralled the ball.
Gabby Williams had 20 points and five rebounds and Kayla Thornton scored 16 as the Valkyries moved one win away from reaching the WNBA finals in just their second season. Golden State became the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in their inaugural season last year.
A shot-clock violation gave Golden State the ball back with 1:01 to play, and Burton delivered with her only basket of the night.
The series now shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday, with the defending champions trying to stave off elimination. Coach Becky Hammon said before Wednesday’s game how important it would be to return home with a split, but the Valkyries have been too good in front of their raucous home crowd. Now the Aces are on the brink of elimination, with their hopes of a repeat title hanging by a thread.
A’ja Wilson had 24 points on nine-for-16 shooting and seven rebounds for Las Vegas, who trailed 66-55 entering the fourth quarter before mounting a late comeback.
Gray’s jumper with 4:46 remaining pulled the Aces within 73-68, and Dana Evans’ three-pointer cut the deficit to 74-71 before Gray hit a tying three with 2:10 left.
