Dream dominate both ends, cruise past Mercury

Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko doesn’t rush to rescue his team when it faces adversity. Instead, he forces the Dream to be tough.

Facing a nine-point deficit in the opening three minutes Friday, Smesko kept his composure and so did his players. The Dream responded with a dominant all-around effort, never trailing again as they cruised to a 95-72 win over the Phoenix Mercury at Gateway Center Arena.

“There’s a time where you have to build some toughness (when the team faces adversity),” Smesko said postgame. “You can’t be looking over to the coach every time there’s a run, because if you bail them out every time, you’ll run out of timeouts. There’s a lot of runs in a typical basketball game. … As a coach, you have to decide if this is a time you have to use one to make a point or see if they can pull it together.”

Four players scored in double figures for Atlanta (17-11), led by Allisha Gray’s 26 points. In a game without stars Rhyne Howard (left knee) and Brittney Griner (neck), Naz Hillmon added 18, Brionna Jones had 16 and Maya Caldwell chipped in 14. 

Jordin Canada, who was questionable before the game due to illness, finished two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 11 assists. The Dream shot 51.5% from the field (34-of-66), 41.9% from 3-point range (13-of-31) – their third most 3s of the season – and dished out 27 assists on 34 made field goals. They also improved to 2-0 against Phoenix (16-11) this season and earned their first home win against the Mercury since Aug. 21, 2024.

Phoenix outscored the Dream 22-12 in the fourth quarter, but the game had long been decided. The Dream captured their fourth victory in their last five games and improved to 9-4 at home.

Hillmon and Gray sparked a 7-0 run to open the third quarter, pushing the Dream’s lead to 23. The Dream outscored the Mercury 26-8 in the third, the fewest points they have allowed an opponent in the third quarter this season, and took an 84-50 lead into the fourth quarter.

Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 19 points while Alyssa Thomas — who entered the game on a historic three-game streak of 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists — posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Although Smesko never gets too high or too low after a win — instead deflecting to the notion that the Dream are still a “work in progress” — Friday’s victory is the type of performance that he envisions from his team each time it steps on the court.

“The last couple games, the ball has moved really well and our spacing has been better, and there’s more players reading,” Smesko said. “You can see the cutting (to the rim) for baskets. I know this is a new system for them, and I think they’re getting more comfortable within it to see that they have a lot more freedom to create scoring opportunities. …With more people being able to read the defense and make good decisions, the tougher the offense is to guard.”

Jones extended the Dream’s lead to 16 in the second quarter after sinking two free throws following a flagrant foul one on Satou Sabally. A few possessions later, Copper drew a foul on a 3-point shot and knocked down a trio of free throws to bring Phoenix within 13. However, Caldwell and Jones closed the half with four straight points, pushing the Dream’s lead to 58-42 at halftime. Gray, Jones and Caldwell combined for 42 points after the first 20 minutes of action.

After falling behind 15-7 early, the Dream used an 11-0 run — including back-to-back threes from Caldwell and a triple from Gray — to take an 18-15 lead. They outscored Phoenix 34-23 in the first quarter.