Jordin Canada scored 19 points, dished a game-high nine assists, grabbed a game-high three steals and committed just one turnover as the visiting Atlanta Dream defeated the New York Liberty 95-84 on Monday night.
Both the Dream (29-14) and the Liberty (26-17) had already clinched playoff berths. With the win, Atlanta moved closer to sealing home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason. The Dream would earn home-court advantage with a win on Wednesday in their regular-season finale at New York or with a loss by the Indiana Fever (27-15) in one of their last two games.
The Liberty lost any shot at having home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Atlanta, which has won four straight games, got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Angel Reese. It was her 32nd double-double, extending her WNBA single-season record.
The Dream also got double-digit scoring from DeWanna Bonner (17 points), Rhyne Howard (16) and Allisha Gray (14).
Breanna Stewart led New York with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Pauline Astier had 15 points and four assists while Sabrina Ionescu finished with 15 points as the Liberty had their three-game winning streak end.
Astier had 10 points in the first quarter, helping the Liberty build a 24-23 lead. Astier went 4-for-4 from the field — with all those shots in the paint — and she also made both of her free-throw attempts.
Gray and Howard, Atlanta’s top two scorers on the season, were held to zero points on five combined shots in the opening frame.
New York extended its lead to 33-27 with 6:24 left in the second quarter. However, Atlanta closed the quarter on a 6-0 run and led 41-38 at halftime. Reese and Astier both had 12 points to lead all first-half scorers.
Overall on 3-pointers, the Dream shot 8-for-28 (28.6%) while the Liberty went 7-for-29 (24.1%).
The Dream started the third by stretching their lead to 50-40, completing a 13-0 run between the second and third quarters. By the end of the quarter, Atlanta led 73-62. The Dream made 4 of 8 from deep in the third.
Atlanta won with defense as it finished with a 7-2 edge in steals while holding the Liberty to 42.3% shooting from the floor. The Dream made 47.8% of their field-goal attempts.
–Field Level Media
