Atlanta Dream beat New York Liberty 101-98 in OT for 2-0 semifinal lead

The Atlanta Dream defeated the New York Liberty 101-98 in overtime on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their WNBA playoff semifinal series. The fourth-seeded Dream moved within one win of their first Finals appearance since 2013, with the best-of-five series shifting to New York for Game 3 on Friday.

Angel Reese led Atlanta with 23 points, including six in overtime, while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime, and Reese made two crucial free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining after Sabrina Ionescu's turnover. Jordin Canada also scored 23 points with eight assists for the Dream, who won Game 1 by 10 points (92-82). The Dream won despite missing leading scorer Allisha Gray due to a left hand injury sustained in Game 1; rookie Izzy Borlase contributed 11 points off the bench.

Breanna Stewart led the eighth-seeded Liberty with 35 points, including 25 in the first half. New York shot 55 percent from the field but committed 17 turnovers, from which Atlanta scored 28 points. The Liberty trailed 86-80 with under two minutes in regulation before closing to within one point on Stewart's layup with 26 seconds left. Marine Fauthoux tied the game with a three-pointer with 10.3 seconds remaining, but Rhyne Howard's potential game-winner rimmed out at the buzzer. In overtime, the teams traded baskets before Hillmon's layup gave Atlanta the lead for good. Ionescu's errant pass with 6.5 seconds left in overtime prevented a final Liberty possession.

Dream coach Karl Smesko emphasized team execution: "We just had a message that we thought we could be the best team over the last five minutes. Everybody was locked in on what those plays were, and they went out there and executed them." Stewart acknowledged the challenge ahead for New York: "We're focused on winning one game, and that's Friday, and then we go from there. This group has experience."

In the other semifinal series, the second-seeded Golden State Valkyries defeated the defending champion third-seeded Las Vegas Aces 83-81 to take a 2-0 lead. Tiffany Hayes led Golden State with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The two-year-old franchise—which joined the WNBA in 2025—moved one win away from their first Finals appearance in franchise history. Las Vegas, a combined 43 points from A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray, rallied from a 17-point deficit to take a late lead but fell short. Both Game 3s are scheduled for Friday, with New York hosting Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and Las Vegas hosting Golden State at 9:30 p.m. ET.