Dream’s six-game win streak ends in tight loss to Storm
The Dream nearly pulled off another big comeback against Seattle. But this time, their rally fell short. The Dream erased most of a 15-point deficit before dropping an 80-78 loss to the Storm in Friday’s WNBA Canada Game in Vancouver.
The win snapped Seattle’s six-game skid and ended Atlanta’s six-game winning streak.
Facing a 12-point deficit, Jones powered a rally, scoring six of the Dream’s 10 unanswered points to slice the deficit to 67-63. After Gray buried a pull-up jumper, Nia Coffey made two free throws to pull the Dream even at 67.
The Storm finally broke through when Skylar Diggins made a jumper at the 5:15 mark. The teams traded baskets from there, knotted at 71, until Griner rolled free for a clean finish at the rim and Howard drew a three-shot foul on Sykes. Howard buried all three, lifting the Dream to a 76-71 lead.
But the Storm refused to fold. Diggins answered with three free throws of her own, then Ezi Magbegor swatted away a shot on the defensive end, sparking a fast break that Nneka Ogwumike capped with a layup to tie it at 76. With the Dream pressing to regain control, Williams jumped a passing lane, picked off Allisha Gray and found a streaking Brittany Sykes for a layup that swung momentum back to Seattle, 79-76.
Howard sank two free throws to pull Atlanta within 79-78 and then denied Diggins at the rim with a block that gave the Dream possession after review. But Howard’s drive on the next trip was altered by Magbegor’s defense. The Storm forward later split a pair of free throws at the line to make it 80-78. The Dream had one last chance but Howard missed a contested bank shot against Sykes, sealing the Storm’s win.
The Dream came out swinging in the third, trimming the gap to 42-41 when Hillmon muscled in a tough layup over Magbegor. But Seattle punched right back. The Storm exploded on a 10-0 run, turning defense into fast-break points and capping it with a Sykes triple that pushed the lead to 52-41. Seattle stretched the margin to 15 when she fired a full-court strike to a streaking Ogwumike for an easy finish.
The Dream refused to fold, though. Jones slipped inside for a late layup, cutting the deficit back to single digits. Still, Seattle carried a 67-55 advantage after a Diggins’ triple at the buzzer to end the frame.
Naz Hillmon ripped down an offensive rebound and powered in a putback, finally giving the Dream their first lead at 24-23. But that spark didn’t last long. Seattle clamped down and roared back with a 12-2 burst, capitalizing on Dream turnovers and riding the energy of Sykes and rookie sensation Dominique Malonga, who converted a bank shot off Diggins’ assist.
The Storm kept the lead in double digits for most of the frame, keeping the Dream at arm’s length. That’s until Gray shifted the momentum, threading a pass to rolling Jones for a layup and following it with a strong layup to cut the deficit to five. Still, Seattle had the final word of the half, heading to the locker room up 40-34.
Seattle stormed ahead early, grabbing a 14-10 lead with Ogwumike leading the way with eight points. The Dream fell behind by as many as six late in the first. But Howard kept the Dream close, selling a ball fake before burying a 3-pointer. The Storm held a slim 21-20 edge against the Dream after the opening quarter.
The Dream return to action Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET when they face the Golden State Valkyries.
