Dream narrowly gets past Sky in final game before All-Star break
And that is how you close out the last game before the All-Star break.
Jordin Canada’s layup at the buzzer gave the Dream a 93-91 win over the Chicago Sky in a game that nearly saw the Dream let a 22-point lead get away.
Setting the tone early, the hosts built a 16-point lead by the end of the first quarter. The Dream scored 31 points in that opening period while shooting 68.8% from the field and 60% from 3-point range.
From there, the Dream kept the engine running.
Brionna Jones made her home debut to a standing ovation. She finished with six points and 10 rebounds, never missing a beat in her second game back from her knee injury. Madina Okot added 14 points off the bench for the Dream.
Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard each knocked down early shots from deep to rattle Chicago’s defense and build a strong lead, which eventually reached 22 points.
The Sky answered in the second half, tightening their defense to cut their deficit, eventually taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Angel Reese left the game with a left leg injury in the fourth quarter, which also left a gap in the offense.
But with a last-minute surge in a back-and-forth battle, the matchup became an all-around performance from the Dream that put them in the win column heading into the All-Star break.
Key moment
A layup by Jordin Canada off an assist from Jones at the buzzer gave the Dream the two-point win.
Top performers
Dream
Allisha Gray: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Madina Okot: 14 points, 4 rebounds
Rhyne Howard: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordin Canada: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists
Angel Reese: 8 points, 5 rebounds
Isobel Borlase: 8 points, 2 rebounds
Sky
Aura Stevens: 20 points, 9 rebounds
Sydney Taylor: 18 points, 3 rebounds
Kamilla Cardoso: 15 points, 4 rebounds
Highlight play
The driver of the night was Gray and her consistency on offense. In the first half, she scored 16 of her 29 points, moving her up to fifth on the Dream’s all-Time scoring list with 2,528 points.
Quotable
“Madina came in and gave us some great minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. So that’s what we need from her anytime she steps out on the floor. But having Bri (Jones) back out on the floor, having another vet out there, and just the experience that she has, she means a lot to this team. And we know Bri can do it all, especially on the defensive glass. So, her coming in, getting the spot for the rebound, that was huge for us to be able to just grab the ball and have possession of it. And so that’s what Bri does. — Jordin Canada on Okot being replaced by Jones in the fourth quarter
“Just my appreciation for this organization. They took a chance on me when I was in Dallas, traded for me to bring me in, and like I always say, coming to the Dream definitely revived my career. Now a four-time All-Star, one of the top guards in the league. So, I just really appreciate the organization and how they believed in me as a player.” — Gray on reaching fifth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list
“I’m just happy we got the win. Like Lish said, now we can go into the break enjoying it, and just hopefully this is the turning point of the second half of us, you know, coming out with a lot of energy, cleaning things up. But definitely happy we got the win. Was not trying to go for another five minutes, that’s for sure. So I’m glad we were able to finish with that.” — Canada on what the win meant to her
“We were all just looking at Angel. And when I was looking at her, it seemed like she was in a lot of pain, and she wanted to go out there and keep playing because she’s competitive and she wants to win the game … those are some of the tough decisions that you have to make. Angel, the person, is very important to us, and we support her in all situations. And I just didn’t feel good about putting someone out there that looked like she was in that much pain — coach Karl Smesko on Reese’s departure from the game because of a leg injury
“I think we have a really good team. I think there’s a lot of really good teams in the league, and I don’t think there is a lot of separation between the very top teams and the teams near the bottom of the standings. I think everybody is capable on any given day of beating another team, so you have to be prepared. You’re going to have to execute at a high level, and for us, we got some time off here. Hopefully, we come back, recharge, well rested … But we’re gonna have to just pitch something every day, lock in on that, get better at that, and feel like when we’re getting to the end of the season, that we’re the best version of the Atlanta Dream that we can be. And I think if we get to the best version of what we can be, I think just about anything is possible with this team.” — Smesko on his team evaluation before the All-Star break