If you watched Game 2 of the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream semifinal series, you were probably just as confused as everyone else about the final play. After two made free throws by Angel Reese, the Liberty were down by three with about four seconds left in overtime. They rushed to get the ball in-bounds, resulting in a frantic and discombobulated full-court play. Breanna Stewart chucked the ball up from the 3-point line, but missed — leaving the Liberty down 2-0 in the series.
The confusion ramps up when you learn that New York still had a reset timeout, meaning that the last play did not have to be so hurried. After the game, Stewart told reporters that during Reese's free throws, she had asked the referee if they had a timeout, and they told her no, per Alexa Phillipou.
Of course, the game's referees claimed they told Stewart that the Liberty did indeed have a timeout left. The Liberty have now made an official inquiry into the situation — so we will have to see where that takes us.
The situation is surely weird, and the gripes are valid to a certain extent. But the Liberty's loss last night wasn't decided entirely on the last play. Here are three other reasons and things they'll need to get right in Game 3 if they want to keep their season alive.
1. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
New York's mishandling of the basketball has now crushed them in both semifinal matchups so far. If they don't find a way to combat Atlanta's tough, aggressive defense, it could be another long night of miscues on Friday. Through the regular season, the Liberty averaged 13.0 turnovers per game. Through these two meetings with Atlanta, they've averaged 19 turnovers per game.
In Game 1, their 21 turnovers converted to 32 points on the board for Atlanta. In Game 2, 17 Liberty turnovers turned into 28 points on the board for the Dream. Atlanta is known for forcing steals — they've had a combined 21 over the first two games of this series. The defensive pressure has caused the Liberty to play with a sense of urgency and sloppiness — exactly what Atlanta wants.
2. Missed free throws
In a game that goes to overtime and ends in a three-point loss, free throws could be a saving grace — we're sure that's how the Liberty are feeling today. Both Atlanta and New York got 23 shots from the free-throw line last night. The Dream shot at 91 percent, putting 21 points on the board. The Liberty shot at only 70 percent, leaving seven points off the board.
In the regular season, New York led the league, shooting almost 85 percent from the free-throw line. Game 2 was just an uncharacteristic night with some missed opportunities. Sabrina Ionescu, who shot almost 90 percent from the charity stripe during the regular season, missed four of her six free throws last night.
3. Find Ionescu's rhythm
Speaking of Ionescu, last night was entirely different from the performance she put on in Game 1. In the series debut, Ionescu recorded 27 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Last night, she put up 10 points and 4 rebounds. However, she dished out 7 assists — she was disappointed by the one assist in Game 1 and said she would be focusing on getting her teammates looks in Game 2. While she got her teammates more action, her production took the hit.
As it's been stated a million times, Atlanta's defense can quickly become overwhelming. We saw it with about 10 seconds left in overtime. Ionescu was hounded by DeWanna Bonner as she tried to make a cross-court pass to Jonquel Jones. The pass was overshot, going right over Jones' head and into the stands. Per Madeline Kenney, Ionescu took full responsibility after the game. She told her teammates, "It was my fault... I took ownership for that. I mean, this loss is on me. I got to take it on the chin and I got to be better."
Ionescu's efficiency and solid decision-making are crucial for Liberty as they look to save their season. Getting her in rhythm early and throwing off the Dream's defense is a good starting point.
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