Angel Reese’s 22 lifts Atlanta to 85-83 win as Dream reach WNBA finals for first time since 2013
Angel Reese scored 22 points as the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 85-83 in Brooklyn on Friday to complete a three-game sweep and reach the WNBA finals for the first time since 2013. Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Jordin Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists in the clinching game.
The Dream will appear in the championship series for the fourth time in their 19-year history and are pursuing their first WNBA title. They will face the Golden State Valkyries, who completed a sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces later on Friday to reach the finals in only their second season as an expansion franchise. Atlanta closed out the best-of-five semi-final tie with the 85-83 victory in Brooklyn.
Atlanta achieved the result despite missing Allisha Gray, described as their second-leading scorer behind Howard, who sat out her second consecutive game with a left hand injury. DeWanna Bonner contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds and Australian reserve Isobel Borlase scored 10 points on five-of-six shooting. After the game Reese, 24, reflected on her move to Atlanta: "When I came to Atlanta, I knew what I was getting," she said of her offseason trade from the Chicago Sky. "This team has poured so much into me. We poured into each other. This is my moment. I’m supposed to be here and I’m just so grateful."
The Dream started strongly from long range, making five of their eight three-point attempts in the opening quarter as Howard scored 11 and Reese added 10, including a pair of threes, to help Atlanta open a 25-18 lead. Reese had 18 points by halftime and Atlanta led 44-39 at the break. The early shooting set the stage for a tense second half in Brooklyn.
The second quarter grew physical and officials intervened twice to separate players. Reese and Sabrina Ionescu exchanged words after Ionescu was whistled for an offensive foul while setting a screen on Borlase, who had scored on back-to-back possessions, and the situation escalated later when Jonquel Jones rejected a shot by Reese, producing a chest-to-chest confrontation that resulted in technical fouls for both players.
New York rallied after the interval, with Breanna Stewart scoring 10 points in the third quarter and Jones adding nine as the Liberty went on a 17-4 run over 3min 42sec to turn a 12-point deficit into a one-point lead. Atlanta’s defence tightened in the fourth quarter, holding New York to 15 points while the Liberty missed 10 of 15 shots in the final 10 minutes, including six of seven from three-point range, and Atlanta outscored New York 19-15. The game finished before a sellout Barclays Center crowd of 17,991 that included Olivia Rodrigo, Meek Mill and Ethan Hawke; Stewart said, "You see Atlanta, they really just work together. Defence wins championships. It’s true."
Stewart and Jones finished with 26 points apiece for New York, with Jones also recording 14 rebounds and three blocks, while Ionescu scored 12 on four-of-12 shooting. The Liberty’s defeat was their sixth straight loss to Atlanta dating back to the regular season. Reflecting on the challenge of repeating as champions, Stewart said: "It’s really hard to win. Because we did it, we went twice early on, it was almost like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be an every-year thing.’ Like, this shit isn’t easy." She added: "When you get there and when you win, you can’t take it for granted, because you don’t know if you’ll be able to get back."
The result completed a series in which Karl Smesko’s Dream had taken a commanding position with Wednesday’s 101-98 overtime victory, and now leaves Atlanta four wins from its first WNBA championship after previous finals losses in 2010, 2011 and 2013. The best-of-seven WNBA finals against Golden State will open on 17 October in San Francisco; "The job is not done," Reese said. "We’re definitely happy about where we are right now. We’re not satisfied."