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ATLANTA (AP) -- Angel Reese scored 23 points, Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime and the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 101-98 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.
Reese scored six of her team’s 13 points in overtime. She made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left after Sabrina Ionescu overthrew a pass as Atlanta moved within one win of its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.
Jordin Canada also scored 23 points and had eight assists for the Dream, who won Game 1 92-82.
Breanna Stewart scored 35 points for the Liberty, including 25 in the first half. She missed a desperation attempt on the final play.
New York hosts Game 3 on Friday.
VALKYRIES 83, ACES 81
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Veronica Burton hit a deep 3-pointer that put Golden State ahead with 41 seconds left and converted two free throws in the closing seconds, Tiffany Hayes had 21 points, and the Valkyries held off Las Vegas for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.
In a wild finish, Jackie Young missed the second of two free throws with six seconds left to give Las Vegas one last chance and Chelsea Gray grabbed the rebound and droved under the basket for a layup attempt. Kiah Stokes blocked the shot and Burton corralled the ball.
Gabby Williams had 20 points and five rebounds and Kayla Thornton scored 16 points as the Valkyries moved one win away from reaching the WNBA Finals in just their second season. Golden State became the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in its inaugural season last year.
A shot-clock violation gave Golden State the ball back with 1:01 to play and Burton delivered with her lone basket of the night.
The series now shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday with the defending champions trying to stave off elimination. Coach Becky Hammon said before Wednesday’s game how important it would be to go home with a split -- but the Valkyries have been too good in front of their rocking home crowd and now Hammon’s team is on the brink of the season ending without a repeat title.
Wilson wins 3rd straight MVP, record 5th overall
A’ja Wilson won the WNBA MVP on Thursday for a third straight year and record fifth time overall.
Besides becoming the first player to three-peat, Wilson also won the award in 2020 and 2022.
The 30-year-old Wilson once again led the league in scoring (26.2) while shooting nearly 53% from the field. She also averaged 9.4 rebounds, a career-best 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks.
Wilson has the defending champion Aces back in the WNBA semifinals for the eighth consecutive season although Las Vegas is down 2-0 in the best-of-five series against Golden State.
Wilson received 65 first-place votes and nine second-place votes (total 713 points) from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota’s Olivia Miles received six first-place votes and 40 second-place votes (442 points), while Indiana guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark followed with 287 and 212 points, respectively.
No WNBA player besides Wilson has more than three MVPs, with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson each having a trio of them. On the NBA side, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had six and Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each had five.