Allisha Gray Out for Game 3, With the Dream One Win From the Finals / sportsearchers.com

The Dream’s leading scorer will miss Game 3, and Atlanta can close out the series tonight. The Dream lead the Liberty 2-0 in the best-of-five semifinals, and Game 3 tips off Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 at Barclays Center.

One caution: the “out” announcement in your excerpt is newer than what I could find. As of Thursday, the team had listed Gray as questionable, and I couldn’t independently confirm the later change. I’m treating your excerpt as the latest word.

How Gray’s status got here

Gray hurt her left (shooting) hand in Game 1 and played only 11 minutes.
Coach Karl Smesko ruled her out of Game 2 after an X-ray and a follow-up exam, and called her day-to-day.
On Thursday, the Dream listed her as questionable with a finger injury, which was an upgrade at the time but no guarantee.
Per your excerpt, she will now miss a second straight game.

During the regular season, Gray averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in all 44 games. In the first-round sweep of Washington, she led the team at 22.0 points per game.

Smesko said earlier in the week that nobody will try to replace her, because “there’s only one Lish.” He said the team has players ready to step up.

The Dream have managed without her

Atlanta beat New York 101-98 in overtime in Game 2:

Angel Reese scored 23 points.
Naz Hillmon made the go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in overtime.
Rookie Izzy Borlase scored 11 off the bench, absorbing some of Gray’s minutes.

In Game 1, the Dream rallied from a halftime deficit with a 32-15 third quarter.

What’s at stake

For Atlanta:

A win tonight would sweep the series and send the fourth-seeded Dream to the WNBA Finals, after their first semifinal appearance since 2018.
No team in WNBA playoff history has come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series.
The Dream are 4-0 straight up and against the spread in the playoffs, have won four straight against New York, and are the favorites to win the Finals according to one betting preview.
They also had the league’s best road net rating (+8.7) and went 15-7 on the road.

For New York:

The No. 8 seed Liberty face elimination at home.
They are without Satou Sabally, and Atlanta is missing Brionna Jones (left knee) as well as Gray.

The odds

The lines I found were set while Gray was questionable and may have moved since:

Spread: Liberty -3.5
Moneyline: Dream +136, Liberty -162
Total: 172.5

So the market made New York the home favorite even with Atlanta up 2-0. A confirmed Gray absence could push the line further toward the Liberty.

What to watch

Rhyne Howard. She shot 5-of-20 in Game 1 and needs to score more with Gray out.
Reese and Hillmon. Both stepped up in Game 2.
Borlase’s minutes. Whether the rookie keeps absorbing Gray’s role.
Turnovers. Atlanta’s takeaways and transition points were a big part of its Game 1 win.
Any Gray update on her availability for Game 4 if the series continues.

Tonight is the Dream’s best chance to end the series and rest for the Finals. A Liberty win would send it back to Brooklyn for Game 4 and give Gray more time to heal.