Dream Top Liberty 101-98 in OT, Take 2-0 Lead — SkimNews
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- Atlanta Dream defeated the New York Liberty 101-98 in overtime on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five WNBA semifinal series, putting the No. 4 seed one win from the Finals.
- Jordin Canada ran the Dream offense, scoring or assisting on 45 of Atlanta's 101 points, and the Dream forced a jump ball with 11.7 seconds left in OT to set up the clinching sequence after a Sabrina Ionescu turnover.
- Breanna Stewart scored 35 points for New York, including 25 in the first half — the second-most in any first half of a WNBA playoff game — but the Liberty got little else beyond Jonquel Jones (21) and Marine Fauthoux (20).
- Atlanta played without injured starting guard Allisha Gray (left hand, suffered in Game 1, day-to-day) but still got balanced production, with six players in double figures — including 11 from bench player Isobel Borlase — tying a franchise playoff record.
- Turnovers proved decisive: the Dream scored 28 points off 17 New York miscues, and the Liberty also shot 16-for-23 from the free-throw line compared to Atlanta's 21-for-23.
- Game 3 shifts to Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2), where the No. 8 seed Liberty must win to stay alive and avoid a sweep.
Why it matters: Atlanta needs one more win to reach the WNBA Finals while New York faces elimination at Barclays Center on Friday. The Dream turned the Liberty's 17 turnovers into 28 points — the same margin that decided Game 2 and now puts New York one loss from the end of its season.
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