Veronica Burton hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining, Kiah Stokes blocked a potential game-winning layup at the other end, and the Golden State Valkyries held off the Las Vegas Aces for an 83-81 win on Wednesday that gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.

With six seconds remaining, Jackie Young missed the second of two free throws to give Las Vegas one last chance. The Aces’ Chelsea Gray went coast-to-coast but was denied at the rim by Stokes.

Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points, Gabby Williams had 20 points and five rebounds, and Kayla Thornton added 16 points as the Valkyries moved one win away from reaching the WNBA Finals.

The series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday, with the defending champions trying to avoid elimination.

A’ja Wilson had 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting and seven rebounds for the Aces, who had to rally from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force a dramatic ending.

 

Dream one win away from WNBA Finals

Angel Reese scored 23 points, Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 101-98 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.

Reese scored six of her team's 13 points in overtime, including two free throws with 4.3 seconds left remaining. With the win, Atlanta moved within one win of its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.

Jordin Canada scored 23 points and had eight assists for the Dream.

Atlanta scored the first five points of overtime before New York responded with an 8-0 run. The teams exchanged baskets until Hillmon's layup gave Atlanta the lead for good.

New York hosts Game 3 on Friday.