WNBA Daily Roundup: Allisha Gray Ruled Out for Game 2 as the Semifinals Hit a Pivotal Wednesday

The quiet ended Tuesday, and it ended all at once. Two days after the WNBA semifinals tipped off, the injury news landed in a rush — Atlanta ruling out its leading scorer for Game 2, Las Vegas listing another starter as doubtful — and suddenly Wednesday’s doubleheader carries a different weight. These aren’t just pivotal Game 2s anymore. They’re survival tests.

Allisha Gray will not play Wednesday night. Dream coach Karl Smesko confirmed it at Tuesday’s practice: Gray is out for Game 2 against the Liberty with the left hand injury she suffered in Sunday’s 92-82 Game 1 win, and she is day-to-day after that. Gray had an X-ray on the finger and a doctor’s appointment Tuesday; beyond that, Smesko said he had no more information to share. Gray hurt the hand twice in the first half Sunday — first on a deflection late in the opening quarter, leaving at the 3:59 mark holding her wrist and hand, then again diving for a loose ball just before halftime — and was ruled out with her ring and pinky fingers splinted and wrapped. She finished with seven points in 11 minutes. Wednesday will be the first game she has missed all season, after playing all 44 regular-season games and three playoff games. Gray averaged a career-high 19.0 points this season and 22.0 per game in Atlanta’s first-round sweep of Washington, the run that carried the Dream to their first semifinals since 2018.

The minutes fall to DeWanna Bonner, who was magnificent filling the void Sunday — 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench in 30 minutes — and who is the likely candidate to move into the starting lineup. Smesko also named Izzy Borlase, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Te-Hina Paopao as candidates for expanded rotation minutes. Rhyne Howard said of Gray, her best friend: “you never wanna see your best friend get hurt.” Naz Hillmon said it plainly: “Nobody’s going to be able to do what Allisha Gray does.”

For the eighth-seeded Liberty, the door just cracked open. They need one road win to take this series, and a Gray-less Dream is the softest target they’ll see. Sabrina Ionescu said after the Game 1 loss: “I need to find a way to get everyone else in better positions… I gotta find ways to get (Jonquel Jones) going a little bit more, (Breanna) Stewart going.” New York actually led by three at halftime Sunday; then came nine third-quarter turnovers, and 21 giveaways became 32 Dream points, tying a WNBA playoff record. Jordin Canada scored 20 of her 25 after halftime with five steals. Against a team built to turn live-ball giveaways into layups, ball security isn’t one adjustment among many. It is the series.

Out west, the injury math is even crueler. The Aces listed Jewell Loyd as doubtful for Game 2 with the left leg injury that ended her Game 1 just over two minutes into the third quarter — she went scoreless in 17 minutes, with two rebounds and an assist, and never returned. She wasn’t even on the initial Tuesday injury report, then popped up as doubtful at 8 PM ET, which tells you how the day went. Dana Evans (right knee) is doubtful too, while Stephanie Talbot (leg) is questionable after missing two straight playoff games. NaLyssa Smith is already out for the season. Hammon said after the game: “one of our more atrocious games of the season,” she added, and the good news was they’d “played like (expletive) and only lost by 10.” The bad news was on the glass: Golden State outrebounded Las Vegas 52-25, and the Aces managed a season-low 60 points.

The cruelest footnote of Game 1: Chelsea Gray became the WNBA’s all-time playoff assists leader in the third quarter, feeding A’ja Wilson for a three-point play — and it came in a loss. Gray scored 16, including 10 in the third, while Wilson finished with 24 on 8-of-21 shooting and Jackie Young added 11. Gabby Williams was the best player on the floor: 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, with Golden State’s bench outscoring the Aces’ 25-7. Kya Stokes grabbed 14 rebounds with three blocks. “You take away even half of their second-chance points, and it’s a different ball game,” Chelsea Gray said. She’s right — 17 Valkyries offensive rebounds became 20 second-chance points.

Tonight decides the shape of both series. If Atlanta holds serve without Gray, the Dream go to Brooklyn up 2-0 with a chance to close. If the Liberty steal one, the series flips to New York’s home floor tied. In San Francisco, an 0-2 hole against this Valkyries defense — 30-3 this season when holding opponents under 80 — would leave the defending champs needing three straight, with the series shifting to Las Vegas on Friday. The winners meet in the WNBA Finals, set to tip October 17. The quiet is over.