WNBA playoffs: Dream lose Allisha Gray to hand injury, but storm back without her for 1-0 series lead over Liberty

Allisha Gray left the first half of Sunday's playoff game against the New York Liberty with a hand injury, delivering a potentially critical blow to the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the semifinal series.But the Dream didn't wilt in her absence. Instead, Atlanta seized control after halftime with a commanding third quarter en route to a 92-82 victory as their All-WNBA guard watched injured from the bench. Gray's status moving forward in the series wasn't immediately clear.Dream avert potential disasterIt added up to a statement win and a critical opening salvo for Atlanta. Instead of leaving Game 1 with a loss at home and their leading offensive player sidelined, the Dream take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series with a trip to the WNBA Finals on the line. They have their third-quarter run to thank for it. With Gray ruled out, the Dream didn't miss a beat and dominated a Liberty team that was outmatched in the stanza. The Dream reeled off a 13-0 run that they extended to 20-2 to turn a four-point deficit into a 59-45 advantage.Veteran DeWanna Bonner turned back the clock and picked up Gray's slack off the bench. The 39-year-old former six-time All-Star took over as a focal point of Atlanta's offense and scored 16 of her 23 points in the second half to go with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. She shot 10 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3. DB FOR 23 😳She hits the corner three-ball!23 PTS | 8 REB | 3 3PM | 2 AST | 2 STLNYL-ATL | ABC | 2026 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel | @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/fENbTOqidm— WNBA (@WNBA) October 4, 2026 Atlanta's defense sets tone for comebackA defense anchored by Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese, meanwhile, gave the Liberty fits. The Dream forced 19 Liberty turnovers, securing 14 of them off steals. Reese tallied 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks.Jordin Canada finished with a team-high 25 points for Atlanta while shooting 9 of 14 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3. She added four assists and helped lead the defensive onslaught with five steals. Atlanta's defense pressure in part led to 11 fast-break points in the third quarter alone, and the Dream entered the fourth quarter with a 69-55 edge.New York punched back with an 8-0 run to start the fourth and kept pressure on throughout the remainder of the game. Sabrina Ionescu paced the comeback effort with a game-high 27 points. But the Dream persevered to secure the win as Gray watched from the bench.Gray left for good after taking contact on injured handGray initially suffered the injury to her shooting (left) hand in the first quarter. She took contact to her hand on defense and immediately went down in pain.Allisha Gray appears to have dislocated her finger while getting a deflection.Hope she's okay 🙏pic.twitter.com/8YuSt5EdQB— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 4, 2026 She left for the locker room, where she remained for several minutes before returning in the second quarter with tape around her fingers. But the tape clearly bothered her on offense and she removed it. She then took contact to her injured hand on defense in the second quarter and left the game again. This time she was ruled out with the hand injury.Big blow for the Atlanta Dream.Allisha Gray injured her left hand, returned to the game, removed the tape from her fingers, then appeared to reinjure the same hand during a steal.That’s her shooting hand, and she has now been ruled OUT for the rest of the game. pic.twitter.com/yPDWolY7wf— Paddocast Sports (@PaddocastSports) October 4, 2026 Her status for Game 2 and beyond wasn't initially clear. But whether or not she plays in Game 2, Atlanta will enter the contest with a 1-0 series lead.