Nus Board · WNBA
Dream +3.5 Cashed: Atlanta Sweeps Liberty 85-83 Into First Finals Since 2013
The Atlanta Dream are going to the WNBA Finals. An 85-83 win over the New York Liberty in Game 3 at Barclays Center on Friday night completed a 3-0 semifinal sweep and sent Atlanta to the championship round for the first time since 2013, four wins from the franchise's first title.
The Dream did it the hard way. Up 25-18 after one quarter and 44-39 at the half, Atlanta watched the Liberty flip the game with a 29-22 third quarter. New York led 71-66 early in the fourth, then went more than five minutes without scoring as the Dream ripped a 9-0 run to retake control. Clinging to 83-81 with 17.7 seconds left, Atlanta turned the ball over to hand the Liberty one last look, but Breanna Stewart missed a contested layup with nine seconds to go and DeWanna Bonner's two free throws with 6.2 seconds left sealed it.
Five Dream players hit double figures for the second straight game, and they did it again without Allisha Gray. Angel Reese went for 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Rhyne Howard added 21 with four three-pointers. Jordin Canada posted 19 points and 11 assists, and Bonner finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Gray, the team's regular-season leading scorer, missed her second straight game with the hand injury from Game 1, though she warmed up beforehand and cheered from the bench. Reese said afterward she was glad to have Gray back for the Finals, calling her the missing piece.
For the Liberty, Jonquel Jones poured in 26 points with 14 rebounds and Stewart added 26, but a season that began with championship expectations ended in a home sweep. Atlanta hadn't even reached the semifinals since 2018. Now the Dream are unbeaten this postseason and await the Valkyries-Aces winner, with Finals Game 1 set for Saturday, October 17.
Betting angle
Dream +3.5 (-110): WON. The board's play cashed by the hook in an 85-83 final. Atlanta led for 76 percent of the game, and the 9-0 fourth-quarter run flipped it for good after the Liberty's scoreless drought. Across the series the sweep was never really in doubt: 92-82 in Game 1, 101-98 in overtime in Game 2, 85-83 in the clincher. The Dream covered all three, twice outright as the team nobody wanted to face. WNBA board record: 1-0.
Key Facts
- Final: Dream 85, Liberty 83 — Atlanta wins series 3-0
- Series: 92-82 (G1), 101-98 OT (G2), 85-83 (G3)
- Dream leaders: Reese 22 pts/9 reb, Howard 21 pts, Canada 19 pts/11 ast, Bonner 13 pts/13 reb
- Liberty leaders: Jones 26 pts/14 reb, Stewart 26 pts
- Gray: out again (hand); warmed up, could return for Finals
- Next: WNBA Finals Game 1, Saturday Oct 17, vs Valkyries/Aces winner
VIA USA Today, Associated Press, NY Post, Sportsnet, theScore.