Allisha Gray exploded for 27 points, with 16 coming in the second half, as the Dream defeated the Dallas Wings 83-75 on Saturday at Gateway Center Arena.
With the win, the Dream improved to 2-2 on the season and 15-12 overall against the Wings in the all-time season series. The Wings dropped to 0-4 on the season.
Gray tied her career high in points, five rebounds, three blocks while eclipsing 600 career assists after dishing six in the contest.
“I just be dishin (passes),” Gray told reporters with a laugh. “I try to benefit the game anywhere I can, making the extra pass, taking the open shot, and helping set up my teammates. I think that’s just the unselfish play of me.”
Brittney Griner finished with 15 points while Brionna Jones registered her fourth double-double with 11 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Dream produced 21 bench points with Nia Coffey and Maya Caldwell combining for 17 of them in the victory.
Caldwell, who has been on multiple contracts with the Dream in her career, said she relishes performances like the one she produced today.
“I’ve been wanting to play in Atlanta, something I asked God for, so he delivered,” Caldwell said. “I’m trying to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The Dream entered the fourth quarter holding an 18-point lead. However, the Wings started the period with a massive burst of energy, putting together 12 unanswered points with six coming from Maddy Siegrist to cut the deficit to 68-61.
“We just went on a little spell [to start the fourth quarter] where we missed a few (shots) that we would normally make,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. “We had played such great defense [ in the third], and we kind of stopped getting back. So they’re getting easy ones in conversion. Then, we’re kind of just turning for the rebound, and they’re getting extra shots.
A layup from Gray ended the run but the Wings remained in pursuit. A layup from Kaila Charles trimmed the Dream‘s advantage to five, 70-65. However, a few possessions later, Caldwell added a three pointer to put the Dream back up by 10 with 4:14 to play in regulation.
From there, the Dream used key efforts from Coffey, Gray and Rhyne Howard to hold an eight-to-10-point cushion before sealing the victory.
The Dream extended their lead in the third quarter, going up by as many as 13 points after five straight points from Jones, to hold a 48-35 advantage with 6:24 to play. From there, the Dream continued their streak of hot shooting.
Caldwell chipped in six of the Dream‘s 11 bench points while the team converted a whopping 62.5% from the floor, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, to take a 68-50 lead into fourth quarter.
The Wings’ Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA Draft, had 11 points and 5 assists, but shot just 4-of-15 from the field.
Leading 32-28 after Griner’s hook shot with 2:33 to play in second, the Dream went on a 5-2 run behind a three from Caldwell and a pair of free throws from Gray, giving the team a 37-30 advantage at halftime. The Dream finished the first half shooting 41.2% from the floor while holding the Wings to 12 points, a new season-low for second-quarter points for Dallas.
Te-Hina Paopao took a hit to the face while securing an offensive rebound as the Dream trailed the Wings 14-11 with 3:56 to play in the first quarter. After the timeout, the teams exchanged baskets before the Wings held a 18-17 advantage at end of the frame.
The Dream ruled Paopao out for the game during the second quarter.
The Dream return to action on Sunday against the Connecticut Sun in the last contest of their back-to-back games.
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