Atlanta absorbed Breanna Stewart’s best game of the postseason and a late New York comeback Wednesday night, beating the Liberty 101-98 in overtime to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five WNBA semifinal. Angel Reese and Jordin Canada scored 23 points apiece, Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Dream moved within one victory of their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013, all without leading scorer Allisha Gray.
New York had every chance to change the direction of the series. Stewart scored 25 points in the first half alone as the teams split a 26-26 opening quarter and Atlanta carried only a 56-54 lead into halftime, and she finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Jonquel Jones added 21 points and rookie Marine Fauthoux supplied 20 off the bench as the Liberty shot 54.7 percent from the field and 48 percent from three, numbers that usually win a road playoff game. They were undone by their own hands: 17 turnovers became 28 Atlanta points and repeatedly erased the value of an efficient offense.
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