Angel Reese scored a team-high 22 points as the Atlanta Dream reached the WNBA finals for the first time in 13 years on Friday night, capping a three-game sweep of the New York Liberty with a tense 85-83 victory in Brooklyn.

Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Jordin Canada finished with 19 points and 11 assists as Atlanta survived a second-half fightback by New York to close out the best-of-five semi-final tie. The Dream reached the championship series for the fourth time in their 19-year history and will be seeking their first title.

They will face the Golden State Valkyries, who completed their own sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces later on Friday to reach the finals in only their second season as an expansion franchise.

“When I came to Atlanta, I knew what I was getting,” the 24-year-old Reese said of her offseason trade from the Chicago Sky. “This team has poured so much into me. We poured into each other. This is my moment. I’m supposed to be here and I’m just so grateful.”

Atlanta finished off the 2024 champions despite playing without Allisha Gray, their second-leading scorer behind Howard, who missed her second consecutive game with a left hand injury. The ageless DeWanna Bonner, who turned 39 seven weeks ago, chipped in with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Australian reserve Isobel Borlase added 10 points on five-of-six from the floor.

The Dream got off to a flying start, connecting on five of their eight three-point attempts in the opening frame. Howard scored 11 points and Reese added 10, including a pair of threes, as Atlanta established a 25-18 lead. Reese had 18 points by half-time, helping the visitors take a 44-39 advantage into the dressing room.

Tempers flared during a physical second quarter, with officials twice having to separate opposing players. Reese exchanged pleasantries with Sabrina Ionescu after the Liberty point guard was whistled for an offensive foul while setting a screen on Borlase, who had scored on back-to-back possessions. The tension escalated minutes later when Jonquel Jones rejected a shot by Reese, prompting a heated, chest-to-chest confrontation that ended with both players receiving technical fouls.

The Liberty, staring down elimination before a sellout Barclays Center crowd of 17,991 almost entirely in their corner, scratched back after the intermission. Breanna Stewart scored 10 points in the third quarter and Jones added nine as the Liberty went on a 17-4 run over 3min 42sec, turning a 12-point deficit into a one-point lead.

But the short-handed Dream flashed their defensive steel when it mattered most, limiting New York to a scant 15 points in the final quarter. The Liberty missed 10 of their 15 shots over the closing 10 minutes, including six of seven from beyond the arc, as Atlanta outscored the hosts 19-15 to nail down their place in the finals before a rollicking Brooklyn crowd that included Olivia Rodrigo, Meek Mill and Ethan Hawke.

“You see Atlanta, they really just work together,” Stewart said. “Defense wins championships. It’s true.”

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Atlanta guard Jordin Canada drives for a layup during the second quarter of Friday’s WNBA semi-final Game 3 against New York at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Photograph: Ishika Samant/Getty Images

Stewart and Jones finished with 26 points apiece for New York, with Jones adding 14 rebounds and three blocks. Ionescu scored 12 but struggled from the field, connecting on four of 12 attempts. The Liberty’s season ended with a sixth consecutive defeat to Atlanta dating back to the regular season.

“It’s really hard to win,” Stewart said. “Because we did it, we went twice early on, it was almost like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be an every-year thing.’ Like, this shit isn’t easy.”

“When you get there and when you win, you can’t take it for granted, because you don’t know if you’ll be able to get back.”

The result completed a remarkable series for Karl Smesko’s Dream, who had taken a commanding lead with Wednesday’s 101-98 overtime victory. Atlanta now stand four wins from their first WNBA championship, having lost each of their previous three appearances in the finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

The best-of-seven WNBA finals against Golden State will open on 17 October in San Francisco, with both teams chasing their first championship.

“The job is not done,” Reese said. “We’re definitely happy about where we are right now. We’re not satisfied.”