The Liberty will be hitting the road to start the playoffs.
The Dream ensured that Monday night by handing the home team a 95-84 loss at Barclays Center.
The Liberty, who play Atlanta here again Wednesday in their regular-season finale, can finish no higher than fifth but as low as eighth.
The playoff field is set, though the matchups are anything but. None of the eight teams have secured their seeding, with only three days left in the regular season.
While it’s not unusual for the order to come down to the wire for a few spots, this level of uncertainty so late in the season is believed to be unprecedented.
But Dream coach Karl Smesko said the league’s parity is setting the table for this to be “the best playoffs in pro sports.”
The games after the FIBA Women’s World Cup break have been an appetizer for the playoffs.
Monday’s physical game was the latest taste.
The fans in Brooklyn understood the assignment. They cheered for every basket made. They shouted “defense” when encouraged. They yelled “M-V-P” when Breanna Stewart stepped to the free-throw line and hurled “ref, you suck” jeers when they took issue with the officiating.
Stewart gave her all. She battled to the end and even got her first technical foul since 2017 as a second-year pro. She finished with a team-high 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Dream had five players score in double digits, including DeWanna Bonner with 17 points off the bench.
Angel Reese, who battled Jones inside for most of the night, tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Liberty had shown a lot of promise in the first two games since returning to action. They beat both the league-leading Lynx and expansion Tempo.
But back in front of their home crowd for the first time in three weeks, they did not deliver.
The Liberty went 1-for-13 from deep in the first half for their fewest 3s in the first two quarters of a game since July 2024.
The Liberty nonetheless stayed in it and could’ve entered halftime tied, but they failed to corral a late defensive rebound. Instead, Bonner got the ball and put it back up, drawing a foul from Leonie Fiebich for a three-point play.
Things didn’t get better for the Liberty in the second half. The Dream opened with a 9-2 run that built their lead up to 10.
The Liberty caught fire for a stretch. Pauline Astier sank a 3-pointer. Sabrina Ionescu drained another. Stewart scored, too.
An 8-0 run made it 55-53 with 4:21 left in the third.
Give the Liberty credit. They, specifically Stewart, didn’t go down without a fight.
But the Dream held on in only the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Liberty won the last meeting on 104-90, on June 11 in Atlanta.
The Dream are 16-4 in their past 20 games and haven’t lost consecutive games since early July.
