Season on the line as Dream brace for elimination game vs. Fever
With 6:10 left on the clock in Game 2, Karl Smesko made the call that signaled the end. Trailing by 24, the Atlanta Dream head coach pointed to the scorer’s table, subbing out Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.
As the two stars walked slowly toward the bench, Fever fans rose with a roar, sensing the celebration that was about to unfold. The typically lethal duo joined Naz Hillmon on the sideline, all three carrying the weight of long, frustrated faces.
The reality had set in. The Dream were headed home for a win-or-go-home Game 3 at Gateway Center Arena on Thursday.
The challenge was always going to be steep. Closing out a best-of-three series on the road inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, against a young Fever team feeding off its home crowd, was far from a simple task. All season long, Smesko reminded his players to stay hungry, to grow each night, to value every possession and stick to the fundamentals that fueled a franchise-best 30 regular-season wins. Those fundamentals? Efficient shot selection, ball movement, crashing the glass, pushing in transition, knocking down 3-pointers, and defending with urgency inside and out.
In Game 2, though, those things disappeared. Indiana was the aggressor from the opening tip, and the Fever never let go, riding a raucous red-clad crowd to their first postseason victory since Oct. 11, 2015.
“They (Fever) were aggressive defensively,” Smesko said postgame. “They were super physical. We’re going to have to really work to create good shots. … We’re going to have to move the ball side to side. … set good screens. Cuts are going to have to be great. When a team is playing that physical, sometimes you have a tendency to slow down. I think that plays into their physicality. So, we’re going to have to be better offensively.”
The Fever’s dominance evoked memories of their last wire-to-wire playoff win, one that dates all the way back to 2002, when now Fever legend but then rookie Tamika Catchings helped carry them into the semifinals.
The Dream’s game plan was clear: Contain Kelsey Mitchell and limit the inside presence of Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard. In Game 1, the Dream did that, holding Boston and Howard to 13 combined points while forcing fouls and controlling the glass.
Game 2 told a different story. Mitchell poured in a team-high 19 points, while Boston and Howard combined for 27 on 12-of-20 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and five assists. Their impact gave the Fever balance and firepower that the Dream never matched.
Now the Dream return home with their season on the line. A victory would secure the Dream’s first playoff series win since 2016 and a return to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
For Hillmon, the moment is as much about opportunity as it is about pressure.
“I just think there’s an excitement about going to an elimination game knowing how poorly we played, and like coach said, I’m not just going to say that Indy (Fever) didn’t do anything to make us play poorly,” Hillmon said. “ … I think we’re going to be able to make some adjustments. And it’s nice when you know those threes finally do fall, and we’re getting a lot of cheers from our home crowd.”
Recap of Dream’s loss in Game 2
The Fever defeated the Dream 77-60, taking control in the fourth quarter.
The Dream began the fourth quarter hoping to make a signature run, but the Fever quickly shut the door. Indiana turned a 7-0 spurt into a 15-0 run, capped by an Odyssey Sims triple that stretched the lead to 67-44. Indiana later pushed the margin to as many as 24 points.
The Fever held the Dream to their second-lowest scoring output of the season, including the regular season.
The Dream never found their footing offensively. They shot just 37.9% from the field and connected on only 5-of-19 attempts from beyond the arc. Missed opportunities piled up. Indiana outscored them 8-2 on second-chance points and turned 16 turnovers into 19 points the other way.
The battle on the glass proved even more decisive. The Fever outrebounded the Dream 37-27, including a commanding 32-22 edge on the defensive boards. That dominance was striking, considering Indiana entered the series ranked last in the league in defensive rebounding after the All-Star break and finished 11th overall during the regular season.
“I thought we executed some plays, got some good looks on shots we normally make,” Smesko said. “ … I think that kind of led to a little bit of frustration when you’re used to making the shots and they won’t go in. But you just got to play through it, and then you hope to get your run at some point. And we had many runs, but we never had that really huge run that I think would have made a big difference.”
How to watch Game 3 of the Dream-Fever series
What: Dream vs. Fever
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Location: Gateway Center Arena
Key players in the Dream’s Game 2 loss
Rhyne Howard (10 points, three assists, two steals, two rebounds)
Te-Hina Paopao (team-high 11 points, one rebound, one steal, one block)
Allisha Gray (9 points, seven rebounds, two assists)
Brionna Jones (8 points, two rebounds, one assist, two steals)
Naz Hillmon (8 points, seven rebounds, three assists)
Brittney Griner (7 points, two assists, one block)
Key players in the Fever’s Game 2 win
Kelsey Mitchell (team-high 19 points, four assists, two steals, one block)
Aliyah Boston (15 points, five rebounds, three assists)
Natasha Howard (12 points, five rebounds, two assists)
Makayla Timpson (9 points, three rebounds)
Lexie Hull (7 seven points, five rebounds, one assist)
