Dream’s fourth-quarter rally comes up short in final seconds vs. Aces

The Dream gave the sellout crowd at State Farm Arena a reason to blow the roof off in their home opener against the reigning champion Aces.

The reason: The Dream launched a valiant effort to erase a 19-point deficit. But the Dream could not complete the comeback, falling to the Aces 85-84 on Sunday.

They looked close to doing it after second-year guard Te-Hina Paopao sank a second-chance 3 from the corner that brought the Dream within 81-80 with 2:16 to play in the fourth quarter. It sent the crowd of more than 17,000 fans out of their seats and the volume to nearly 100 decibels.

In the final minutes, Dream guard Jordin Canada corralled a loose ball that deflected off Aces center A’ja Wilson’s foot. She took it to the basket to give the Dream an 84-83 lead, their first of the game.

But Aces guard Chelsea Gray got the advantage on a Dream defender before hitting a stepback jumper. That all but sealed the Aces’ win with 3.6 seconds to play. The Aces blew up the Dream’s last possession on the other end, poking the ball away from Allisha Gray on her drive.

Quick stats

Allisha Gray led all scorers with 25 points and nine rebounds. Paopao, who started in place of Rhyne Howard (concussion protocol), scored 19 points. Angel Reese finished with 9 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Madina Okot finished with her first career double-double: 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Wilson, a four-time MVP, finished with 20 points, while Chelsea Gray led the Aces (3-1) with 21 points.

Standout run

The Dream (2-1) had a chance to make things a game. Spurred by strong defensive play from rookie Indya Nivar, the Dream went on a nearly three-minute, 9-1 run at the end of the third quarter.

Nivar was everywhere, getting into the bodies of driving players and disrupting their dribble. She cut off the driving lane of Aces veteran Jewell Lloyd, getting her hands up to rip the ball away and get teammate Naz Hillmon out in transition for a layup that cut their deficit to 12.

The rookie’s energy off the bench helped to spark the Dream’s push as they capitalized on the absence of A’ja Wilson, who was on the bench with four fouls.

Highlight play

The Dream needed buckets after trailing the Aces for much of the second half. Their three-time All-Star delivered. With Jackie Young looking to cut her off from the top of the key, Allisha Gray picked up her dribble and switched gears on a drive to the basket.

Gray did not put the brakes on even when Wilson tried to cut off her look at the rim. Instead, Gray put up the finger-roll layup and drew the contact