Dream sweep the Liberty, 85-83, and head to the WNBA Finals
The Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 85-83 in Brooklyn on Friday to sweep the best-of-five semifinals 3-0 and reach their first WNBA Finals since 2013 (AP). Jordin Canada scored from 4 feet with 1:15 left for an 83-79 lead, DeWanna Bonner made two free throws with 6.2 seconds left, and Atlanta finished 22 of 24 at the line, with Canada 8 of 8. They did it without leading scorer Allisha Gray, who was ruled out before tip (ESPN injury report, 3:21 PM PT) and played 11 minutes all series. Their Finals opponent is being decided tonight in Las Vegas.
The Liberty led 71-66 with 9:26 left after a Sabrina Ionescu three. Atlanta answered with a 9-0 run over the next four and a half minutes, and New York never led again.
How the fourth quarter flipped
Rhyne Howard started the run with two free throws at 7:57 and a driving layup at 7:24. Canada hit a 24-foot three at 5:23 to put Atlanta up 73-71, then made two free throws at 4:55 for 75-71.
Breanna Stewart's free throws cut it to 75-73 at 4:04. Howard answered with an and-one at 3:48 for 78-73. Bonner was fouled at 3:15 and made all three free throws for 81-75. Jonquel Jones and Stewart got it back to 81-79 with 2:12 left.
Angel Reese was called for an offensive foul at 1:57, and Leonie Fiebich missed a 23-foot three at 1:38 that would have put New York ahead. Atlanta kept the ball on a held ball at 1:34, and Canada scored inside at 1:15. Jones answered with a layup off a Stewart assist with 59 seconds left, 83-81.
Naz Hillmon missed a layup at 39.2. Ionescu threw it away at 24.2, and Howard threw it back at 20.9. Out of a timeout, Stewart missed from 5 feet at 9.9, Bonner grabbed the rebound, and Ionescu fouled her at 6.2. Bonner made both for 85-81. Ionescu missed from 30 feet, and Stewart's putback with 0.2 seconds left, upheld on review, made the final 85-83.
The numbers that decided it
- Free throws: Atlanta 22 of 24, New York 20 of 21. The Dream went 8 of 8 at the line over the final 4:55.
- Turnovers: Dream 8, Liberty 11, counting team turnovers. Atlanta scored 12 points off New York's giveaways. New York scored 7.
- Canada: 19 points, 11 assists, 0 turnovers in 38 minutes, on 5-of-8 shooting.
- Reese: 22 points and 9 rebounds, 7 of 18 from the field, 6 of 6 at the line, five offensive boards.
- Howard: 21 points on 7 of 21, with four threes and 7 points in the fourth.
Isobel Borlase gave Atlanta 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench. Bonner added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Hillmon went 0 for 7 and still finished plus-6.
New York's two stars weren't enough
Stewart and Jones each scored 26. Jones went 11 of 17 with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Stewart went 13 of 13 at the line and added six assists.
The rest of the roster struggled. Ionescu scored 12 on 4 of 12, all four makes from deep, with three turnovers, including the one at 24.2. Fiebich scored 8 on 2 of 7. Marine Fauthoux scored 9 and was plus-7 in 32 minutes, the best mark on the team. New York's other reserves scored two points.
New York led 68-66 after three quarters behind a 29-point third. Atlanta won the fourth 19-15.
The series, and what's next
The margins were thin all series. Atlanta won the three games by a combined 15 points, and New York actually won more regulation quarters, six to Atlanta's four, with two tied. Atlanta also won the Game 2 overtime. The difference was ball security: the Dream turned it over 30 times in three games, counting team turnovers, to New York's 49.
The Dream will face the Golden State Valkyries, who swept Las Vegas 3-0 with an 87-77 overtime win in Game 3. The Finals are best-of-seven and begin Oct. 17 (WNBA.com).
My pick is the Dream to win the title. They committed 19 fewer turnovers than New York across three games, and they won all three with their leading scorer playing 11 minutes.
Full Court Buckets gathers and verifies its own game data for every recap.
Box score: ESPN.
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