The Atlanta Dream moved within one victory of a WNBA Finals berth after outlasting the New York Liberty 101-98 in overtime Wednesday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the semifinal series.
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Dream → move → series
However, Game 2’s dramatic finish was overshadowed by controversy after New York star Breanna Stewart said officials incorrectly told the Liberty they did not have a reset timeout available in the closing seconds, even though the team still had one remaining.
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team → overshadow → one
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
"This is not blaming the refs, but when I ask both refs if we have a reset timeout at the end, and they tell us no, and then we leave the game with the reset timeout, it's pretty frustrating," Stewart told reporters after the game.
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Stewart → blame → game
Under league rules, each team is given two team timeouts and one reset timeout during overtime, allowing it to advance the ball without huddling on the sideline.
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it → give → sideline
Stewart continued later: "I asked Kevin [Fahy].
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I → continue → Kevin
I said, 'Do we have a reset timeout?'
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we → say → timeout
And he said, 'I'm going to check at the table.'
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I → say → table
So then he looked to [crew chief] Fatou [Cissoko-Stephens], and she said, 'No.'
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she → look → Fatou
So then he told me, 'No.'"
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he → tell → me
A late New York turnover gave Atlanta an opportunity to put the game away.
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turnover → give → game
Angel Reese, the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, went to the foul line and sank both free throws to extend the Dream’s lead to three points.
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Reese → go → points
The Liberty inbounded from under their own basket and got the ball to Stewart, but her desperation shot was no good as the clock ticked to triple zeros.
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clock → inbounde → zeros
"Of course, who knows what happened to end the game," Stewart said.
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Stewart → know → game
"But we would have had hopefully a better shot on our goal."
Officials were not made available to members of the media until roughly two hours after the game.
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Officials → have → game
ESPN asked crew chief Fatou Cissoko-Stephens in the pool report why Stewart said she had been told the Liberty's reset timeout wasn't available.
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timeout → ask → report
"Stewart was standing behind referee Fahy when he confirmed with his partner between Reese's penalty free throws that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining," she said.
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she → stand → timeout
The controversy has prompted the Liberty to formally inquire with the league about the situation, ESPN reported, citing sources.
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ESPN → prompt → sources
Asked whether he was unaware that the team had a reset timeout at their disposal, Liberty coach Chris DeMarco responded, "Yeah, same thing.
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DeMarco → ask → disposal
They just said we didn't have it.
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we → say → it
Multiple staff members [were told].
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members → tell → ?
We've got to demand more.
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We → get → more
Dream coach Karl Smesko was also asked about the number of Liberty timeouts remaining.
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Smesko → ask → timeouts
"I was, I thought they had a timeout left," Smesko said.
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Smesko → think → timeout
"But they played it out the way they did.
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they → play → it
So I was expecting it to be advanced, but it wasn't, so we had to play it, and fortunately we were able to get the stop."
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we → expect → stop
Cissoko-Stephens added that the scorer’s table and stats staff keep up with the number of available timeouts, but emphasized that "teams are responsible for managing and tracking their timeout usage throughout the game."
When the Liberty had possession in critical moments, they failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
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they → add → opportunities
With less than 10 seconds remaining in overtime, Ionescu lost control of the ball while driving, sending it out of bounds.
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Ionescu → remain → bounds
Ionescu took responsibility for the costly mistake.
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Ionescu → take → mistake
"I told them it was my fault," she said.
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she → tell → them
"I took ownership for that.
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I → take → that
I've got to take it on the chin, and I've got to be better."
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I → get → chin
Atlanta’s depth was on full display as six players scored in double figures, led by Reese and Jordin Canada with 23 points apiece.
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players → score → points
The Dream's leading scorer Allisha Gray sat out of the game due to a finger injury.
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scorer → sit → injury
The Liberty would have to overcome unprecedented odds to become the first team in WNBA history to erase a 2-0 deficit and win a best-of-five playoff series.
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Liberty → have → series
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night as the series shifts to Brooklyn, New York.
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series → schedule → Brooklyn
The Aporia
