Angel Reese scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon delivered the dagger, a go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime, as the Atlanta Dream outlasted the New York Liberty 101-98 on Wednesday night to grab a 2-0 lead in their WNBA semifinal series.
This one needed extra time to settle, and extra time is where series like this get decided. New York built this roster to win exactly these kinds of games, close and physical, with multiple shot creators late. Wednesday night they had their chances and still walked out of regulation tied. That's the part that should worry them more than the final score. A team that's built for the margins lost the margin.
Reese's 23 points are the headline number, but it's Hillmon's layup that will live in the recap. Go-ahead buckets with under 30 seconds left in a playoff overtime don't happen on accident, they happen because somebody got the matchup they wanted and the team trusted them to finish it. Atlanta did both.
Now the series heads to Brooklyn, where New York hosts Atlanta on Friday night. No team wants to face a 0-2 hole in a best-of series, and the history of climbing out of that spot in any sport is thin. The Liberty have the roster and the building behind them to make it a fight, but they need one thing above everything else: a game that doesn't go to overtime, where their depth and shot-making can take over in regulation instead of getting worn down late.
For Atlanta, the equation is simpler. They've already proven they can win in New York's building under pressure. Win one more and they're through to the finals. Reese and Hillmon were the story Wednesday, but if this series keeps being decided in the final minute, Atlanta's the team that's won that minute twice now.
What I'm watching heading into Friday: whether New York can find pace and tempo in regulation, because overtime has not been their friend in this series.