Gray scores 19, Jones 17 and Dream cruise past short-handed Liberty 78-62
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Allisha Gray scored 19 points, Brionna Jones added 17 and the Atlanta Dream dominated the short-handed New York Liberty 78-62 on Saturday to set a franchise record with their 24th win of the season.
The Dream started the day with a one-game lead over the Liberty for the second seed in the playoffs and never gave the defending WNBA champions a chance to pull even.
Atlanta took charge early, opening a 12-4 lead and making it 24-14 after one quarter. The lead reached 26 late in the third quarter before New York went on a 15-0 run, but the Liberty got no closer than 11.
Naz Hillmon had 11 points for Atlanta (24-13), which has won 9 of 11 games and tied the season series at 2-2, the home team winning each time.
Kennedy Burke scored 13 points for New York (22-15), which had only eight players available. Breanna Stewart is still out with a bruised knee and Sabrina Ionescu, who missed the game with a foot issue, is day to day. Jonquel Jones added 11 points and Emma Meesseman had 10.
Atlanta won the rebounding advantage by nine and had 21 second-chance points, compared to 7 for New York. The Dream also turned 13 Liberty turnovers into 18 points. Atlanta had just five giveaways.
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