Allisha Gray Injures Fingers During Dream's Win Over Liberty

ATLANTA — Allisha Gray exited the first half twice during the Dream’s 92-82 win over the Liberty on Sunday due to a left hand injury. Her availability for the remainder of the semifinals is not yet known. Gray appeared to injure her pinky and ring fingers on her shooting hand during a deflection in the first quarter and went to the locker room while holding her hand. She returned with her fingers taped and reentered the game at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter. After missing a 3-point attempt, Gray removed the tape and threw it toward her team’s bench. Despite the injury, Gray maintained her defensive intensity, diving for a loose ball and earning a steal. However, she ultimately checked out of the game again and went back to the locker room, this time for good. Gray, the Dream’s leading scorer with an average of 19 points per game, was ruled out before the end of the first half. Dream coach Karl Smesko did not provide an immediate update on Gray after the game, stating, “Hopefully she’ll be OK. Obviously, she’s been a huge reason we’ve been so successful this year, and it was tough to see her not out there, but really proud of how the team pulled together and how they played in the game.” The Liberty were also uncertain about the availability of Han Xu, who fell ill prior to the game. Han missed Saturday’s practice due to a fever and was a game-time decision. She reported still feeling unwell on Sunday but expressed her desire to contribute to the team. Han, who had been a key contributor off the bench in New York’s first-round sweep, finished with three points and two rebounds in eight minutes. Jonquel Jones praised Han for her determination to play despite her illness. “She’s locked in,” Jones said. “She does a really good job of coming in and just allowing me to have a good rest on the bench and to really just watch the game and see it from a different perspective, so she’s been great.” Breanna Stewart indicated her willingness to do whatever it takes to win, including playing 40 minutes, which she did for the second consecutive game, although the Liberty still lost. Stewart has dismissed concerns about potential burnout from her heavy minutes at the FIBA Women’s World Cup and in the WNBA. “It’s tricky sometimes,” coach Chris DeMarco said. “It can be better to get the rest or in other cases, have [her] play closer in this game and there’s a rhythm to it, but yeah, we’re just going to continue to monitor it and make sure she’s good to go.