A disputed timeout leaves the Liberty reeling as they fall to Atlanta in OT, down 2-0

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty return home trying to keep their season alive after a loss to Atlanta in Game 2 of their best-of-five WNBA semifinals series left the team in a major hole and confused about whether they had a timeout at the end of the game.

The eighth-seeded Liberty trail 2-0 after falling 101-98 in overtime to the Dream on Wednesday night. They now must win three games in a row to reach the WNBA Finals. No team has ever rallied from a 2-0 deficit in league history. Game 3 is Friday night in New York.

“We’re not focused on winning three games straight right now,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. “We’re focused on winning one game, and that’s Friday, and then we go from there. This group has experience. I’ve been part of some crazy series and I have a lot of confidence in our group.”

The confusion came in the final seconds of OT when New York trailed and Angel Reese was at the foul line. Stewart asked the officials whether the team had their reset timeout remaining. Stewart said the official answered no. In a postgame pool report, the head official contradicted that, saying New York did have their timeout.

Without the timeout, where New York could have advanced the ball to midcourt, Stewart missed a desperation shot at the buzzer. The Liberty have made an official inquiry with the WNBA although its not clear what would even come from that.

Atlanta is now one victory away from reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013. The Dream have looked dominant throughout the playoffs led by Reese and Jordin Canada. Reese scored six of her team’s 13 points in overtime. She made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left after Sabrina Ionescu overthrew a pass with her team down one.

That's when the Liberty weren't sure if they had a timeout or not and Stewart asked the official. Usually it's the responsibility of a coach on the bench to keep track of timeouts, not referees.

Canada had 23 points and eight assists in the Game 2 victory and was disruptive on the defensive end. Reese and Canada have helped the team win all four of the Dream’s playoff games, leading a swarming defense. Atlanta forced New York into 35 turnovers combined in the first two games. The 16 turnovers on Wednesday led to 28 Dream points.

The Dream won Game 2 without star Allisha Gray, who was sidelined with a finger injury from the first game. She is day-to-day. A win by Atlanta on Friday would give her a week to recover before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, which is schedule for a week from Saturday.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Atlanta Dream forward DeWanna Bonner (24) reacts to referees call during the second half in Game 2 of the WNBA basketball semifinals, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Daniel Varnado)

Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon (00) makes basket against New York Liberty guard Pauline Astier (18) during the second half in Game 2 of the WNBA basketball semifinals, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Daniel Varnado)

New York Liberty guard Pauline Astier (18) watches during the second half in Game 2 of the WNBA basketball semifinals against Atlanta Dream, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Daniel Varnado)

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) and New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (35) fight for a rebound during the second half in Game 2 of the WNBA basketball semifinals, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Daniel Varnado)

Tennessee's bungled attempt to execute Christa Pike was not the first time a state has failed to carry out a lethal injection over problems in the death chamber.

Pike, 50, has regained consciousness and is speaking a week after Tennessee gave her two lethal doses of pentobarbital. Outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Lee has ordered a review into what went wrong and the state has not said whether they will again try executing her, which experts say could wade into uncharted legal waters.

Pike, who was sentenced to die for torturing and killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, is one of at least eight condemned inmates in the U.S. who left their state's execution chamber still alive because of problems carrying out the punishment, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Pike is the only one who was actually administered lethal drugs before the process was halted, according to the organization.

Not all have faced execution a second time. Three of the inmates would die years later in prison, two remain alive and two were executed after another attempt.

Ohio unsuccessfully tried to put Romell Broom to death by lethal injection in September 2009. The execution was called off after two hours when technicians could not find a suitable vein, and Broom cried in pain while receiving 18 needle sticks.

Broom died in December 2020 of possible complications of COVID-19 while on Ohio’s death row.

Ohio also failed to execute another inmate, Alva Campbell, in November 2017 by lethal injection. The execution was halted after executioners couldn't find a usable vein.

Campbell was found unresponsive in his death row cell in March 2018. It was determined that he died from natural causes.

Alabama called off the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm in February 2018 because of problems getting the intravenous line connected. A doctor hired by Hamm's legal team later wrote in a report, filed in court, that Hamm had to be carried back to his cell by correctional officers after the execution was called off because he was in so much pain.

Hamm died of natural causes on death row in November 2021.

In September 2022, Alabama unsuccessfully executed Alan Eugene Miller by lethal injection when executioners spent more than an hour trying and failing to properly insert the catheter, repeatedly puncturing Miller with needles trying to find a vein. At one point, they left him hanging vertically on a gurney before state officials made the decision to call off the execution, according to news coverage at the time.

Miller had originally asked for nitrogen gas, but the Alabama Department of Corrections told a federal district court that they could not complete the execution that way.

The state successfully executed him two years later in September 2024 with nitrogen gas.

Almost two months after failing to execute Miller, Alabama had a second failed execution, when executioners did not have enough time to get a second IV line in before the death warrant expired at midnight for Kenneth Eugene Smith.

Smith was the first person to die by nitrogen gas as an execution method in January 2024.

Idaho halted the execution of Thomas Eugene Creech in February 2024 after medical team members repeatedly failed to find a vein to carry out the lethal injection. In some cases, they couldn’t access the vein, and in others they could but had concerns about vein quality. They attempted sites in his arms, legs, hands and feet. At one point, a medical team member left to gather more supplies.

After eight attempts, the prison warden told them to give up. Creech remains alive and on death row.

Four months before Pike's execution went awry, Tennessee officials called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers in May after his executioners tried and failed for over an hour to establish an intravenous line.

Lee announced soon afterward that the state would not try to execute Carruthers again for at least a year. Tennessee prison officials have said medical personnel had quickly established a primary IV line but were unable to find a suitable vein for a backup line as required by the state’s execution protocol. Efforts to insert a central line also failed.

Carruthers remains alive and on death row.

FILE - Anti-death penalty signs placed by activists stand along the road heading to Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., ahead of the scheduled execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith on Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler, File)

FILE - Larry Greene, the public information director of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, demonstrates how a curtain is pulled between the death chamber and witness room at the prison in Lucasville, Ohio, in November 2005. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Emergency vehicles arrive at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the execution of Christa Pike was halted Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)