Strong comeback gives Dream Game 1 over Mystics
The lesson of the season rang true on Sunday night: Don’t ever count the Dream out.
The Dream overcame an early deficit to take a 92-77 win against the Mystics in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round playoff series.
The Dream opened with a Rhyne Howard 3-pointer, but from there, struggled to finish at the rim in the first half and were held to 28.6% shooting against the Mystics defense.
Washington built an 11-point first-half lead, capitalizing on open 3-pointers and its 25-17 rebounding advantage in the first half.
Atlanta’s defense produced nine steals and forced 12 turnovers in the first half. A series of foul calls disrupted the Dream’s momentum, but their 91% free-throw shooting kept them on Washington’s heels.
The second half marked the turning point for Atlanta, as a whole different team stepped on the court to change the narrative. The Dream played with more aggression in the paint, a tighter defensive unit, and a collective effort to protect their home court.
The arena could feel the energy surge as the Dream found themselves taking a 13-point lead and looked to be enjoying themselves again. By the time the third quarter ended, the tide had turned and the Dream had control of the night, outscoring the Mystics 29-12.
Key moments
Coming off a disappointing first half, the Dream got their first lead of the night after an Allisha Gray 3-pointer to kick off the third quarter and help the team go on a 7-0 run to turn the game around.
Top performers
Dream
Rhyne Howard: 26 pts, 5 stls
Allisha Gray: 22 pts, 3 rebs
Angel Reese: 13 pts, 12 rebs, 2 stls
DeWanna Bonner: 13 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts
Jordin Canada: 10 pts, 3 rebs, 10 assts
Naz Hillmon: 4 pts, 3 assts, 3 stls
Mystics
Sonia Citron: 25 pts, 6 rebs
Kiki Iriafen: 15 pts, 14 rebs
Shakira Austin: 12 pts, 16 rebs
Highlight of the night
When Bonner checked in, the Mystics defense checked out. The 17-year veteran provided an immense spark off the bench in the third quarter, scoring 11 points in the period and showcasing the long-range prowess she’s become known for.
Quotable
“For me, I think it was like ‘finally,’ because you know DB’s (Bonner) coming in, you’re trying to be comfortable, you know, trying to make sure everybody else is even. But I done told her: ‘You need to shoot that ball, and you need to go get a bucket.’ And so, seeing her do it and be able to do it with ease, like she’s been doing for years now, it was like, thankfully she is showing up, and you know we’re gonna go as she goes.” — Howard on watching Bonner excel in the third quarter.
“I think just settling into what our advantages were offensively, I thought second half we were a lot better at moving the ball, getting into screening actions, and just kind of naturally letting some of the scores develop. And Angel was a big part of that in the second half. Understanding how we were going to create our advantages, and now, her first playoff game to have a double-double, really good start for her, and hopefully the start of a lot of big nights for playoffs” — Coach Karl Smesko on Reese’s first playoff performance.
“I think for me, just everybody take a breath, take a deep breath. We’re gonna be OK. We’re gonna be fine. I think we just had to get back to playing with a little bit of joy, like fun. Kind of took that out of it. I think we was playing with nerves, hoping that we were going to make shots, hoping that we were going to make this defensive play instead of knowing that we can do it. This is what we’ve been doing all year. It’s what got us here. So let’s get back into having fun. And when we did that, it was just opening up a little bit.” — Bonner on the message to shift the second-half momentum.
“I think just realizing that the next game is going to be hard. They’re going to want to come out with more aggression. … I think the next game they’re going to want to come out capitalizing mistakes that we did make. So I think making sure that we’re playing our defense for the full 40 minutes is going to be key because we want to take their confidence early. We want to make sure that we put them away early. They’re a team that you can’t just play around with.” — Howard on the outlook for Game 2
“Rhy (Howard) is one of the best players in the building, the very best. And today, she was aggressive … . DB is an all-time great and an all-time great competitor, and to have that on the floor. And as great as that is, it wouldn’t be enough if you didn’t have Gray have a great game or a Jordin have a double-double or everybody come in and make contributions. This is the playoffs. I would say this is the best collection of teams to be in the playoffs in W history, so this is going to be a battle, and this is just round one. We feel good about how we set the tone for the first game, but there’s a lot more work to be done, and I think everyone in our locker room is aware of that.” — Smesko on the momentum shift heading into the next game.