Hillmon Scores It, Ionescu Throws It Away: Dream Win Game 2 in OT, Lead 2-0
Naz Hillmon's layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime gave Atlanta the lead for good in a 101-98 win over New York. Sabrina Ionescu turned the ball over on the next possession (ESPN play-by-play), and Angel Reese made two late free throws to put the Dream one win from the Finals. New York shot 55% to Atlanta's 40%, but the Dream took 20 more shots and scored 28 points off turnovers (ESPN box score).
The overtime
Atlanta punched first. Howard drove for an and-one at 4:05, then Angel Reese scored inside off a DeWanna Bonner feed to make it 93-88. Then New York ripped off eight straight. Marine Fauthoux hit a 26-footer at 3:13. Leonie Fiebich drove for a layup off a Breanna Stewart pass to tie it at 93. Jonquel Jones buried a 24-foot three at 2:01, and the Liberty were up 96-93 (play-by-play).
Jordin Canada answered with a short jumper. Reese finished a Hillmon dish at 44.3 for 97-96. Stewart went right back at her for 98-97 at 33.8. Then the Howard-to-Hillmon layup. New York won a held ball between Jones and Bonner at 11.7, kept the ball, and gave it away anyway. Reese hit two free throws at 4.3 for 101-98, and Stewart's 32-footer with 1.1 left didn't drop (play-by-play).
How it got to overtime
Nobody could pull away. It was 26-26 after one, 56-54 Atlanta at the half, 75-74 Atlanta after three and 88-88 at the end of regulation (ESPN game page). There were 17 lead changes, and the biggest lead all night was eight (box score). Atlanta's best stretch was a 10-0 run in the second quarter that flipped a 29-26 deficit into a 36-29 lead.
New York forced overtime after trailing by six with less than two minutes left (play-by-play).
Where the Dream won it
Ball security. New York finished with 17 total turnovers, including team turnovers, to Atlanta's 9, and the Dream scored 28 points off those giveaways while New York got 10 (box score). Add 11 offensive boards to New York's 5, and Atlanta took 84 shots to New York's 64. That's 20 extra looks. You can shoot 40 percent and win with that.
Jones was a perfect example of New York's night. She scored 21 on 8-of-11 shooting with 4 blocks, but she also turned it over 6 times. The Dream went 21-of-23 at the line. The Liberty went 16-of-23, and Ionescu was 2-of-6 (box score).
Stewart did everything she could. She put up 35 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, going 11-of-21 from the field and 11-of-13 at the line. Fauthoux gave New York 20 on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three, in 31 minutes (box score).
The Dream's closers
Reese scored 23 points, including six of Atlanta's 13 in overtime. Her five offensive rebounds and 6-of-6 free-throw shooting gave the Dream points and possessions they needed.
Canada matched Reese with 23 points and added eight assists. Howard shot 5-of-20 but made all six free throws and committed no turnovers in 44 minutes. Hillmon also played 44 minutes, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and no turnovers. Isobel Borlase added 11 points off the bench (box score).
Game 3 take
My pick for Game 3 is Atlanta. The Dream have won two different kinds of games by creating extra possessions. New York's shooting gives it a route back, but 17 turnovers erased much of that advantage in Game 2. The series moves to Brooklyn on Friday, October 9, at 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN schedule).
Box score: ESPN.
How this story was made: Ryan Moalemi picked the story and the angle. Full Court Buckets gathers its own game data and verifies it against official box scores. AI tools drafted it from that data and the sources linked above so it could post the same night, then Ryan reviewed and edited it before publishing. How we make Full Court Buckets
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