Dream beat Liberty 85-83, complete sweep and end New York's season

Atlanta beat New York 85-83 at Barclays Center on Friday and swept the best-of-five WNBA semifinal 3-0. The Liberty's season is over. The Dream are going to the Finals for the first time since 2013.

New York had a chance to extend the series. Down 83-81 with 17.7 seconds left, the Liberty got the ball back after an Atlanta turnover. Breanna Stewart missed a contested layup with nine seconds remaining. DeWanna Bonner then made two free throws with 6.2 seconds left, according to the AP recap on the official WNBA game page.

The comeback was real. The finish was not enough.

Atlanta opened the third quarter with seven straight points to lead 51-39. New York fought back and finished the quarter ahead 68-66. That is the distinction worth keeping: this was not a team quietly accepting elimination. The Liberty changed the game, then failed to hold it.

The Dream won the fourth quarter 19-15. Their response included an eight-point run after New York led by four early in the period. The AP recap records a stretch of more than six minutes without a Liberty basket. A comeback only changes the series if the offense keeps functioning after it.

Two 26-point games could not save the season

Jonquel Jones and Stewart each scored 26 points. Jones added 14 rebounds and made 11 of 17 shots; Stewart went 13-for-13 at the line. Angel Reese led Atlanta with 22 points and nine rebounds, Rhyne Howard scored 21 and Bonner finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Those figures come from the league's final box score.

New York made nine threes to Atlanta's seven and shot a better field-goal percentage, 43.5 to 40.6. But the Dream attempted 69 field goals to the Liberty's 62 and made 22 free throws to New York's 20. The shooting percentages alone do not explain who controlled enough possessions to finish the game.

Atlanta advances. New York's next game disappears.

Our read: the Liberty's third quarter showed why a sweep can still contain a competitive game. The fourth showed why that distinction offers little comfort. New York had restored a lead in an elimination game and still could not turn it into one more night of basketball.

Atlanta will face the Las Vegas-Golden State winner. The WNBA recap lists October 17 as the start of the Finals. The Liberty's conditional Game 4 is no longer an upcoming event. This is a confirmed elimination, not a prediction about roster changes or anyone's future with the team.