Jordin Canada's Second-Half Surge Powers Dream Past Liberty in Game 1

For 20 minutes on Sunday, the New York Liberty looked comfortable. Then the third quarter started, and that was pretty much it.

The Atlanta Dream beat New York 92-82 in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals before a sellout crowd of 9,745 at State Farm Arena. Jordin Canada scored 20 of her 25 points after halftime, and DeWanna Bonner scored 23 after Allisha Gray left the game with a hand injury.

New York and Atlanta traded the lead 14 times before the break, and the Liberty went to the locker room up 40-37. Whatever was said in the Dream's halftime huddle, the third quarter didn't resemble the first two. Atlanta forced nine turnovers in the frame, and seven different Liberty players were responsible for them. New York made 4 of 14 shots, and a three-point lead turned into a 16-point deficit.

Canada spent the night everywhere at once. She finished with five steals, which ties a WNBA playoff record. The fourth one pushed her past 200 postseason points for her career. And when the Liberty cut the lead to five in the final minutes, there was Canada again, hitting a step-back three just before the shot-clock buzzer and then scoring in transition on Atlanta's next trip down the floor.

"I just tried to do what I do best," Canada said. "Be aggressive, find my shots, take my shots with confidence and knock them down."

Bonner's minutes jumped for a reason. Gray left in the second quarter with what appeared to be a hand or finger injury, seven points in under 11 minutes in the bank, and never returned. Smesko didn't have an update on her condition after the game. Bonner, in her place, played 30 minutes, her most since joining the team late in the season, and added nine rebounds to go with her 23 points.

"DB and JC just had some huge plays and huge games," Smesko said. "It's good to be up 1-0, but there's still a lot of work to be done, and we realize that."

The 32 points Atlanta scored off 21 New York turnovers tied a WNBA playoff record, and the Dream got there with 14 steals and four blocks as a team. Canada and Angel Reese, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, had three steals apiece in the third quarter alone. Reese also scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots.

Naz Hillmon spent most of her nearly 37 minutes on Stewart and attempted only two shots. Her plus-14 was the best on the team.

"We couldn't get a basket until pretty late in the third," Stewart said. "We know what Atlanta likes to do. A similar situation happened to us at home — they just came out and raced it down our throats. We need to be better."

Ionescu had 27, more than anyone on the floor. Stewart scored 19 and, for the second straight game, played all 40 minutes. The Liberty took the fourth quarter 27-23. Five points was as close as they got.

Sunday's win was Atlanta's first in the semifinal round since 2018, and it made the Dream 8-0 since the regular season ended, the only team in the playoffs without a loss. It's been Reese's season from the start, record books and all, and now the Dream sit three wins from the Finals.

New York has been the lower seed making noise before. This same No. 8 team took Game 1 in Minnesota against the Lynx last round. Game 2 is Wednesday in Atlanta.

"They did what they were supposed to do," Stewart said. "We come back here Wednesday. The goal in the series, like everybody always says, is to steal one. That's what we'll try to do."