Angel Reese, Ionescu's Box Score Stats, Highlights as Dream Beat Liberty in WNBA Playoffs Game 1

The Atlanta Dream are rolling.

After sweeping the Washington Mystics in the first round of the 2026 WNBA playoffs, Angel Reese and Co. continued their momentum with a 92-82 victory over the New York Liberty in Game 1 of their semifinals series on Sunday at State Farm Arena.

Four Dream players scored in double figures, including Jordin Canada and DeWanna Bonner, while an excellent performance from Sabrina Ionescu was not enough to propel the Liberty to a win on the road.

The Dream now lead the series 1-0 and are just two wins away from the WNBA Finals.

Player	PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
Angel Reese (ATL)	17	7	2	3	4
Allisha Gray (ATL)	7	1	0	0	1
DeWanna Bonner (ATL)	23	9	2	0	2
Jordin Canada (ATL)	25	1	4	1	5
Sabrina Ionescu (NY)	27	4	1	0	0
Jonquel Jones (NY)	12	11	4	5	1
Breanna Stewart (NY)	19	2	3	3	3

Bonner's production off the bench was particularly important, as the Dream lost star guard Allisha Gray to a hand injury in the second quarter. Gray played just 11 minutes, which put the onus on the others to fill the void against a star-studded Liberty team that is anything but a traditional No. 8 seed.

After all, New York already made history by becoming the first No. 8 seed to eliminate the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs when it defeated the Minnesota Lynx. 

Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart is about as good of a trio as anyone could ask for, and they all have championships on their resume. Just because the Dream had home-court advantage and looked dominant in the first round didn't mean they were going to cruise to a win in this one.

And the Gray injury provided immediate adversity.

To Atlanta's credit, it responded to that adversity with suffocating defense. It forced 19 Liberty turnovers overall and was particularly dominant on that side of the ball while winning the third quarter 32-15.

Reese and Canada each tallied three steals in that decisive third quarter and helped the Dream seize the lead for good.

Still, the Liberty cut a commanding lead to as little as five with fewer than three minutes remaining.

With the game hanging in the balance, Canada took over with an assist on a Reese basket, massive three-pointer and layup in transition to push away New York's late charge. Ionescu did what she could as a scorer, while Jones added a double-double.

However, Stewart struggled at times with efficiency and failed to reach the 20-point mark for the first time in the playoffs. It would be anything but surprising if she bounced back during Wednesday's Game 2, but the initial win went to the Dream.