The Atlanta Dream are four wins from their first WNBA championship after defeating the New York Liberty 85-83 on Friday night and completing a three-game sweep of the semifinal series. Angel Reese led Atlanta with 22 points, while Rhyne Howard scored 21. The fourth-seeded Dream have not lost in the postseason and are headed to the Finals for the first time since 2013. They had not reached the semifinals since 2018. Atlanta’s place in the championship round was decided in a tense finish. The Dream led 83-81 with 17.7 seconds remaining after a turnover gave New York another chance. Liberty star Breanna Stewart missed a contested layup with nine seconds left, and DeWanna Bonner made two free throws with 6.2 seconds to play to secure the victory. The Dream will face either the Las Vegas Aces or Golden State Valkyries in the Finals, which are scheduled to start Saturday, Oct. 17. Four more wins would deliver the franchise its first title. Reese, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, joined Atlanta in an offseason trade and helped carry the scoring load with leading scorer Allisha Gray sidelined by a finger injury. Gray, who was hurt in Game 1 of the semifinal series, missed Friday’s game after warming up before being ruled out. She watched from the bench in a Rhyne Howard jersey. Atlanta built a 44-39 halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with seven straight points. New York answered with a 16-4 run and took a 68-66 advantage into the fourth. The Dream fell behind by four early in the period before an eight-point run put them ahead 75-71 with 4:55 remaining. Jonquel Jones and Stewart each scored 26 points for New York. The Liberty, the No. 8 seed, had upset top-seeded Minnesota in the first round after a season marked by inconsistency. Their loss ended their bid to return to the Finals after winning the franchise’s first championship two years ago.