Dream set to face Liberty in semifinals starting Sunday

For the first time since 2018, the Atlanta Dream have advanced to the WNBA semifinals, defeating the Washington Mystics 93-75 in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The Dream next face the New York Liberty, who made history as the first No. 8 seed to defeat a top seed, sweeping the Minnesota Lynx in the first round.

Atlanta has home-court advantage in the best-of-five series, hosting Games 1 and 2, which will be played Sunday and Wednesday at State Farm Arena. New York will host Game 3 on Friday, Oct. 9. If the series extends beyond that, Game 4 will also be held in New York, the finale would return to Atlanta. Game times are still being determined.

The Dream closed the regular season with back-to-back road wins over New York, but the Liberty will enter the series with their own momentum after the historic upset.

“We understand who we are as a team, and we’ve said it before — we’re not listening to outside noise,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said after the win. “We feel like we can play anybody and we can beat anybody, and that’s the mindset that we have moving forward.”

For Atlanta, the focus is on carrying its postseason momentum into the next round.

“The biggest thing is staying locked in,” All-WNBA guard Allisha Gray said. “We know the job’s not done. Of course, we’re happy with this series victory; but now, we put it behind us and focus on New York. The biggest thing is getting back in film. Knowing we win but still knowing there’s some improvements we can make to get better.”

Atlanta and New York are the only playoff teams who swept their opponents in the first round, and they’ve taken their game up a level since the start of the postseason.

For the Dream, that meant overcoming a slow start in Game 1 against the Mystics before taking control in Game 2. Despite some of the starters getting into foul trouble, Atlanta pulled away with a strong fourth-quarter surge to secure the series win.

In their last matchup against New York, which helped Atlanta clinch the No. 4 seed, the Dream held the Liberty to their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, allowing only seven points while forcing 15 turnovers.

To note, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart missed the last game, and Jones exited during the third quarter with an injury. Atlanta still managed to push through early scoring troubles to clinch the win, even with newly named Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese sitting out for the duration of the second half.

The Dream will need to maintain defensive intensity in the paint and capitalize on opportunities on the glass to create second-chance points. If they can do that, it could help establish a balanced offense against a healthy New York team with a championship pedigree.

For the Dream, the first round is behind them, but they’re on a mission to clinch a spot in the finals for the first time since 2013.