Allisha Gray Misses Game 3 Against Liberty With Hand Injury

Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray missed Game 3 of the WNBA semifinal series against the New York Liberty on Friday night in New York after a left hand injury forced the team to rule out its leading scorer before tipoff.

Gray injured her shooting hand during Game 1 and briefly returned before leaving again after diving for a loose ball. The Dream entered Game 3 with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, according to TSN.

Sportsnet reported that Gray went through warmups while wearing black tape on the final two fingers of her shooting hand and was ruled unavailable about an hour before the game.

"They came back and said Lish was out today," said Karl Smesko, Atlanta coach.

Smesko added that Gray was making progress after the injury, but the team prioritized caution. Atlanta had already secured a 101-98 overtime win in Game 2 without Gray, according to TSN.

"She's making good progress since her injury. In the interest of caution, they ruled her out for today," said Karl Smesko, Atlanta coach.

TSN reported that Gray averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals during the regular season while playing all 44 games. She also averaged 22.0 points during Atlanta's first-round sweep of the Washington Mystics.

Without Gray in Game 2, six Dream players scored in double figures, led by 23 points each from Jordin Canada and Angel Reese. Atlanta advanced through the game with stronger defensive pressure and forced 21 turnovers, according to CBS Sports.

"Nobody's going to try to be Lish because, I mean, there's only one Lish," said Jordin Canada, Atlanta guard.

Canada spoke after Atlanta overcame Gray's absence in Game 2, when the Dream scored 32 points in the third quarter and built momentum toward a potential first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.

"Lish is one of the best players in the league. She's an exceptional scorer, and she's an excellent defender. So being without her for a game is tough, but we have players that are ready to step up," said Karl Smesko, Atlanta coach.