Angel Reese Breaks Down ‘IQ’ Play That Sealed Dream’s Game 2 Win vs. Liberty
Game 2 between the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty came down to the last few seconds in overtime. Shorthanded without Allisha Gray, the Dream claimed a 101-98 victory and a commanding 2-0 lead that no team has ever battled back from in a best-of-five series.
Angel Reese was everywhere in clutch time—with mixed results in regulation and game-winning plays in overtime. With about 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Dream up one point, Reese made two clutch free throws to give Atlanta a three-point lead. On New York’s next possession, she didn’t close out on Marine Fauthoux when Rhyne Howard got caught on a screen. Fauthoux hit a 3-pointer and sent the game to overtime.
Reese made up for that lapse in overtime. She scored a big layup to give the Dream a one-point lead with about 44 seconds left and helped force a jump ball between Jonquel Jones and DeWanna Bonner that ultimately resulted in a turnover from Sabrina Ionescu with little time left in the game.
Her biggest play of the game sealed the win for the Dream. With about six seconds left and the Dream up one, they were struggling to inbound the ball. The first attempt got the ball to Jordin Canada, but the Liberty had a foul to give.
Before the second attempt to get the ball in, Reese spoke to Bonner at the sideline and then ran into the backcourt. Bonner got the ball to her, and Reese took valuable time off the clock until Fauthoux finally managed to get into the backcourt and foul her. Reese sank two clutch free throws, and the Liberty, unaware that they had a reset timeout, only had enough time left to get off a rushed long 3-pointer.
“That’s just IQ right there,” Reese said when asked about the play in the postgame media availability, per a stream on the WNBA’s YouTube channel. “I mean, it’s going to take them a couple seconds to chase me around the court. So, I told her to throw it in the backcourt and I’m gonna run around as fast as I can out there.”
Reese has come up big for the Dream in her first playoff run
Reese finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. She tied Jordin Canada for the game-high in points and recorded the best +/- with +11. It was her highest-scoring game of the playoffs so far.
The 24-year-old has been good all playoffs long. She struggled to score efficiently in Game 1 against the Washington Mystics but still recorded a double-double. She bounced back quickly, scoring at least 17 points on 50% shooting or better from the field in the next three games.
She has also lived up to her Defensive Player of the Year award against New York’s tall and star-studded roster, racking up five steals and five blocks in the first two games of the semifinals.
The fact that Reese has been able to score efficiently, come up big in the clutch, and knock down open 3-pointers in her very first playoff run is very impressive. Reese shot just 19.3% from deep in the regular season but is now 4-for-9 in the playoffs.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.