New York Liberty 98, Atlanta Dream 101 (OT)

Atlanta lost its leading scorer before the night started and still found a way. Allisha Gray, who left Game 1 with a hand injury, did not appear in the box score, and the Dream and Liberty traded the lead 17 times and were tied eight times in a game where neither team led by more than eight. It was 26-26 after one quarter, Atlanta led 56-54 at the half, and New York won the third and fourth quarters by a point each (20-19 and 14-13) to leave regulation tied at 88. The tie took some doing. Stewart's driving layup, off a Fiebich assist, cut Atlanta's lead to 86-85 with 27 seconds left, New York fouled intentionally, and Reese made both free throws with 15 seconds left to make it 88-85. Marine Fauthoux then made a 24-foot three off a Stewart assist with 10 seconds left to tie it at 88. Atlanta had the last shot, but Rhyne Howard's six-foot driving floater missed with five seconds left, and Jonquel Jones's rebound sent the game to overtime. Atlanta opened the extra period with five straight points to lead 93-88, only for New York to answer with an 8-0 run, capped by a Jones three, to lead 96-93. Jordin Canada's turnaround fadeaway cut it to 96-95 with 1:47 left, and the lead changed hands three more times from there. Reese's layup with 44 seconds left put Atlanta back in front 97-96, Stewart's cutting layup, her 35th and final point, made it 98-97 New York with 34 seconds left, and Naz Hillmon's layup off a Howard assist with 21 seconds left made it 99-98 Atlanta. New York took a timeout, but Sabrina Ionescu's pass went out of bounds with seven seconds left, and the Liberty had to foul. Fauthoux's sixth foul, a second straight take foul, sent Reese to the line with four seconds left, and she made both free throws to make it 101-98. Stewart's 32-foot three with one second left missed. Final: 101-98 in overtime, Atlanta leads the series 2-0 and extends its winning streak to nine games.

Atlanta only shot 40.5% from the field, but they took 84 field goal attempts to New York's 64, who were more efficient with 54.7%. The Dream got there with a 17-9 edge in total turnovers, which they turned into 28 points to New York's 10, an 11-5 edge on the offensive glass, and 21 of 23 free throws (91.3%) to New York's 16 of 23 (69.6%).

Jordin Canada was the engine, going 9-of-15 from the field for 23 points at 72.4% true shooting with eight assists, and Angel Reese matched her with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, going 6-of-6 from the line and grabbing seven rebounds, five of them offensive. Naz Hillmon added 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Isobel Borlase made three of five from three for 11. The cost came on the other end of the shot chart: Rhyne Howard went 5-of-20 for 18 points, six of them from a perfect 6-of-6 at the line, and DeWanna Bonner shot 2-of-11 for 10. Atlanta covered for that volume with its pressure, forcing 17 turnovers while committing only nine.

New York did almost everything but win the possession battle. Breanna Stewart was brilliant in defeat, going 11-of-21 for 35 points at 65.5% true shooting with 11 rebounds, six assists, and a single turnover, drawing 10 fouls and making 11 of 13 at the line. Marine Fauthoux added 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting (4-of-6 from three) before fouling out, and Jonquel Jones scored 21 on 8-of-11 with four blocks. But Jones also committed six turnovers and was whistled for five fouls, Leonie Fiebich finished with five fouls of her own, and Sabrina Ionescu shot 3-of-8 for 10 points with seven assists. New York's 48.0% three-point shooting (12-of-25) and 64.1% effective field goal percentage were not enough once Atlanta had 20 more shots to work with.

ATL 101 · NYL 98

Las Vegas Aces 81, Golden State Valkyries 83

Golden State built its cushion early and spent the fourth quarter making sure it survived. The Valkyries led 19-11 after one quarter, 42-31 at the half, and 66-55 after three, with a lead as large as 17. Las Vegas never led by more than two points all night, but it won the fourth quarter 26-17 to turn an 11-point deficit into a two-point loss. Final: 83-81, Golden State leads the series 2-0 against the defending champions, who lost both games at Chase Center.

Tiffany Hayes was the difference off the bench, scoring 21 points on just 10 field goal attempts, going 6-of-10 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line for 77.7% true shooting. Gabby Williams added 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting, Kayla Thornton scored 16 with three threes and a perfect 7-of-7 at the line, and Kiah Stokes did not score but pulled down seven rebounds. Golden State's bench outscored Las Vegas's 34-14, and the Valkyries made 25 of 27 free throws (92.6%) and 10 threes to Las Vegas's eight on 10 more attempts. It was not clean: Aminata Gueye had two points, four turnovers, and five fouls, and Golden State committed 15 turnovers overall.

A'ja Wilson did everything she could, going 9-of-16 for 24 points with seven rebounds and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line, drawing nine fouls. Chelsea Gray added 19 points and six assists but turned it over four times, and Jackie Young scored 14 on 2-of-7 shooting with eight assists and four steals. Stephanie Talbot, who missed Game 1, returned and scored 10 on 3-of-4 shooting, while Jewell Loyd, who left Game 1 with a leg injury, did not appear in the box score. Las Vegas got just 14 bench points and no fast-break points.

GSV 83 · LVA 81