Dream close historic regular season, still have hopes of No. 2 playoff seed
The Atlanta Dream built a 24-point cushion in the second quarter and looked poised to cruise in their regular-season finale against the Connecticut Sun (11-32). But after weathering a furious third-quarter rally, they regained control and closed out an 88-72 victory Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
With the win, the Dream (30-14) sealed a 3-1 regular-season series victory against the Sun, capping it with three wins in the last nine days and closed the regular season with a franchise-best 30 victories. The Dream will now shift their focus to the playoff picture, entering the WNBA’s final day of the regular season sitting at No. 2 in the standings.
Wednesday’s triumph kept the Dream in the hunt with the Las Vegas Aces (29-14) for the league’s No. 2 seed. To clinch it, they need the Los Angeles Sparks to knock off the red-hot Aces on Thursday. If Las Vegas extends its winning streak to 16 with a victory against the Sparks, the Aces will lock up the No. 2 seed, pushing the Dream to No. 3 heading into the postseason, which tips off Sunday.
Turning point in the Dream’s victory
Leading by 13 to start the fourth, the Dream needed buckets to stop the Sun’s momentum they’d built in the third quarter, a frame where Connecticut outscored the Dream 30-20. They leaned on Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner as the duo combined for nine of the team’s 17 points in the fourth quarter. Timely 3-pointers from Naz Hillmon and Maya Caldwell also helped the Dream put the final touches on a victory in their regular season finale.
The Sun refused to fold in the third, slicing into Atlanta’s 23-point lead with a surge of energy. Aneesah Morrow muscled in a bucket at the rim to ignite a 14-2 run, fueled by relentless full-court pressure on defense that threw the Dream off rhythm and cut the deficit to 61-54 with 3:44 left in the quarter.
The Dream steadied themselves moments later. Te-Hina Paopao drove hard to the basket and finished a tough layup, pushing the lead back to 71-58. Even with the Sun outscoring the Dream 30-20 in the period, Atlanta held firm heading into the fourth. Marina Mabrey and Saniya Rivers both finished with nine points respectively as the duo served as the key catalysts in the Sun’s massive run.
Smesko said the biggest adjustment from his team after Sun built momentum in the third was simply limiting their opportunities to gain points from the free throw line. Connecticut converted 13-of-17 in the period in comparison to the Sun hitting 4-of-4 in the other three quarters that included zero made or attempted in the fourth quarter.
“We had to quit fouling,” Smesko said postgame. “…They shot 17 free throws in the third quarter. That’s a games’ worth of free throws in one quarter. … We just weren’t as locked in defensively as we needed to be, and then they start pressing (defensively), and we needed to use a timeout just to get organized and talk about how we were going to break that. I thought we did a better job after the timeouts of executing against (the press).”
Key players in the Dream’s win
Griner came off the bench for the 14th consecutive game and made her presence felt, pouring in a team-high 17 points with four rebounds and four blocks. She and Nia Coffey fueled the team’s second unit, which dominated with a 34-10 edge in bench scoring. Griner also etched her name in the record books, passing Hall of Famer Swin Cash for 16th on the WNBA’s all-time rebounds list with 2,525.
The Dream spread the scoring load, with four other players finishing in double figures. Howard added 15 points, four assists and three steals while becoming the first player in franchise history — and just the ninth in league history — to hit 100 or more 3-pointers in a season, finishing with 102. Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray chipped in 13 points apiece, and Coffey added 10 off the bench to round out Atlanta’s balanced attack.
What’s next for the Dream?
The Atlanta Dream will open a new chapter Sunday, tipping off their first-round playoff series at Gateway Center Arena in College Park. The best-of-three battle marks the team’s first step in the postseason, though their opponent remains a mystery until the regular season wraps up.
The Dream will enter the playoffs as either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on how the final week shakes out. If they land at No. 2, they’ll draw the Golden State Valkyries — a team the Dream handled in two of three regular-season matchups. Should they earn No. 3, the Dream will meet the Indiana Fever, who storm into the postseason winners of three straight and six of their last 10 despite losing star guard Caitlin Clark to injury.
Either way, the Dream have home court and a chance to set the tone in Game 1. Even as Smesko pushed his team to finish strong down the stretch, he and his staff had already turned an eye toward the postseason. They’ve begun breaking down film on both the Indiana Fever and Golden State Valkyries, knowing Thursday night will determine which matchup awaits in the first round.
“We definitely wouldn’t want to go in tomorrow and just start the (playoff) preparation,” Smesko said. “You have to get a head start on these things so that when we do find out, then you can just add a little to it. … Other than the last games that they’re playing, we’re up to date on what they’ve been doing and been paying attention and trying to already have a game plan in place when we Find out who we’re actually playing.”
