In the middle of the fourth quarter, Dream guard Betty Lennox drove directly into the chest of 6-foot-3 Barbara Farris.

It looked like a test dummy crashing a car into a wall.

And the same can pretty much be said for the Dream's 97-79 loss to Phoenix on Tuesday night.

The night started promisingly. The Dream seemed amped for their national TV debut as a fog machine erupted every time a Dream starter was announced to the crowd.

Lennox's hot hands at the start had Phoenix guard Kelly Miller shaking her head in frustration. The Dream guard made three shots from behind the 3-point line and posted 11 points in the first quarter.

The rest of the team seemed to feed off her energy as Tamera Young sank three shots and Ivory Latta drained a three-pointer.

But the electricity dimmed after the first quarter and the Dream sank to 0-16 while the defending WNBA champions (8-7) rolled to their fourth consecutive road victory.

Though the Dream gave up fewer turnovers (16 to 21), their hiccups were more costly.

They threw away sloppy passes, which the Mercury players were happy to feast on.

"The no-look passes, I don't know where they came from," coach Marynell Meadors said. "We just got away from what we were doing in the first quarter. Once we did that, they started scoring points of our mistakes."

The Mercury's Diana Taurasi had no problem finding the rim. She finished 10-of-15 for the night for 28 points.

Phoenix whizzed past the Dream to pour on 24 points in transition to the Dream's one.

It looked like a race between Speed Racer and Fred Flintstone.

"We're looking really bad out there defensively," Lennox said. "Everybody is standing and watching. Everybody pointing fingers, blaming people. We're just not getting it done. I mean, that's speaking the truth. You can see it clearly out on the court. We're not getting it done."

Reserve Jennifer Lacy agreed with her teammate, saying their problem lies within their rotation defense.

Lacy, who started but played only 7:47 of the first half, reawakened the Dream in the third quarter. She chipped in nine points and drew a charge in just over two minutes.

She finished the night 7-of-12 for 16 points, all in the second half.

Lacy made more shots in Tuesday's game than in her previous five games combined (5-of-20). She said her teammates have been urging her to keep shooting.

"It's really because of them that I was able to get my rhythm and my feel back," she said. "It's a testament to their character. It's good to have that kind of support."

The Dream also got a boost from new addition Kasha Terry, who announced her presence in Atlanta with 11 points and five rebounds.

But the Dream's deficit was too much to overcome once again.