A shot to the face, then a blow to the gut
Sabrina Ionescu crashed into Angel Reese square in the face. Second quarter. Play stopped for a moment. Reese stayed on the floor, limited, with six points and six rebounds in 17 minutes, out for the entire second half.
It did not matter. Atlanta did not need its star to do damage. 83 to 65 against New York’s Liberty on Wednesday. A fifth straight win for the Dream, including two on the road this week, right on their opponent’s court.
Allisha Gray led the charge with 24 points. Naz Hillmon added 16 more. Together, they sealed fourth place and home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
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New York left without its leaders
Across the floor, there was a clear shortage of firepower. Breanna Stewart, an eight-time All-Star, was out with a problem in her left knee. Jonquel Jones, the game’s top scorer with 10 points and 14 rebounds, then went down with an ankle sprain in the third quarter.
Marine Fauthoux tried to pick up the slack with 14 points off the bench. Han Xu chipped in with 11. It was nowhere near enough against a defence that ripped away 10 steals in the first quarter alone, forced 15 turnovers and smothered New York’s shooting to 32 per cent. By half-time, it was already 41 to 26.
Two very different playoff paths
The Dream now wait on Indiana or Washington in the first round. The Liberty, down in eighth place, open their series against Minnesota, the best team in the regular season. The night also brought a farewell for Rebecca Allen, who retired after 11 years in the game and came off to applause after six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
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