Dream guard Gray (finger) to remain out for Game 3 vs. Liberty

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray's finger injury on her left hand will keep her out for a second straight game Friday night in Game 3 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty.

Gray, the top scorer for the No. 4 seed Dream, had the last two fingers of her shooting hand taped as she went through a pregame workout and also participated in the open portion of shootaround earlier Friday morning before being ruled out.

Gray missed Game 2 on Wednesday after suffering the injury in Game 1, during which she played only 11 minutes.

"She's been making good progress since her injury, but in the interest of caution, they ruled her out for today," Dream coach Karl Smesko said before Game 3.

Asked whether Gray's injury is a matter of pain management, Smesko said, "I really didn't get any other information. She went through the workout, and they told me that she was out."

Atlanta has a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. No team has come back to win a series after going down 2-0 in WNBA playoff history.

Gray, a 6-foot guard and four-time All-Star out of South Carolina, averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals this year while appearing in all 44 regular-season games. She was also the Dream's top scorer (22.0 PPG) during their first-round sweep of the No. 5 seed Washington Mystics, as Atlanta secured its first semifinals berth since 2018.

Atlanta is one win from advancing to its first WNBA Finals since 2013.