Angel Reese scored a team-high 22 points and snapped the New York Liberty’s three-game winning streak with a tense 85-83 victory in Brooklyn on Friday night as the Atlanta Dream advanced to the WNBA Finals for the first time in 13 years.
Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Jordin Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists as Atlanta survived a second-half challenge from New York to clinch a best-of-five semifinal tie. The Dream advanced to the championship series for the fourth time in its 19-year history and will be looking for its first title.
They will face the Golden State Valkyries, who completed their sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, later Friday to reach the finals in just their second season as an expansion franchise.
“When I came to Atlanta, I knew what I was getting,” Reese, 24, said of his offseason trade from the Chicago Sky. “This team poured a lot into me. We poured into each other. This is my moment. I got to be here and I’m so grateful.”
Atlanta finished 2024 champion despite playing without Allisha Gray, its second-leading scorer behind Howard, who missed her second straight game with a left hand injury. Senior DeWanna Bonner, who turned 39 seven weeks ago, had 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Australian reserve Isobel Borlase added 10 points on five-of-six shooting.
The Dream took off, connecting on five of eight three-point attempts in the opening frame. Howard added 11 points and Reese 10 as Atlanta built a 25-18 lead. Reese scored 18 points at halftime, helping the visitors take a 44-39 lead into the locker room.
Tempers flared in a physical second quarter, with officials having to separate opposing players twice. Reese exchanged pleasantries with Sabrina Ionescu after the Liberty goalie was whistled for an offensive foul while Borlase, who scored on back-to-back possessions, was setting a screen. Moments later, tensions rose when Jonquel Jones denied Reese’s shot and both players ended up with technical fouls.
The Liberty bounced back after halftime, staring down elimination in front of a sellout Barclays Center crowd of 17,991 who were almost entirely in their corner. Breanna Stewart scored 10 points and Jones scored nine in the third quarter as Liberty went on a 17-4 run in a span of 3 minutes, 42 seconds to turn a 12-point lead into a one-point deficit.
But the short-lived Dream turned on the defensive steel when it mattered most, limiting New York to a paltry 15 points in the final quarter. The Liberty missed 10 of 15 shots over the final 10 minutes, including six from beyond the arc, as Atlanta beat the hosts 19-15 to clinch their spot in the finals in front of a raucous Brooklyn crowd that included Olivia Rodrigo, Meek Mill and Ethan Hawke.
“You see Atlanta, they really work together,” Stewart said. “Defense wins championships. That’s true.”
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Stewart and Jones combined for 26 points for New York, with Jones adding 14 rebounds and three blocks. Ionescu scored 12 goals but struggled from the field, connecting on four of 12 attempts. The Liberty’s season ended with their sixth straight loss to Atlanta since the regular season.
“It’s really hard to win,” Stewart said. “We went early twice because we did it, it was almost like, ‘Oh, this is going to happen every year.’ Like, it’s not easy.”
“When you get there and win, you can’t take it for granted because you don’t know you can’t come back.”
The result capped a remarkable streak for Carl Smesko’s Dream, which took the lead with a 101-98 overtime win on Wednesday. Atlanta is now four wins from its first WNBA championship, having lost each of its previous three games in the finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The best-of-seven WNBA Finals will open in San Francisco on October 17 against Golden State, with both teams chasing their first championship.
“It’s not over,” Reese said. “We’re definitely happy with where we’re at right now. We’re not satisfied.”