The Dream insisted it would be different this time.
The Dream made it to the 2010 WNBA finals as underdogs and lost 3-0 to Seattle. They surged back to the finals again this year and said losing last season taught them what it takes to win it all.
It turns out the Dream still hasn't figured out how to finish.
Minnesota held off a furious late rally from the Dream for a 73-67 victory Friday that silenced a record crowd of 11,543 at Philips Arena. The Lynx won their first championship while Atlanta was swept from the finals again.
Like in 2010, the Dream had chances to win in all three games. But in another repeat from last season, Atlanta couldn't close out games when it counted most.
“When it comes to this point, it just comes down to who makes the best plays,” Dream guard Lindsey Harding said. “It was close; they just made more plays.”
Minnesota outscored Atlanta 19-8 in the third quarter and led by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter before. The Dream got within 64-63 in the final moments before faltering.
Atlanta cut the lead to 61-56 on Angel McCoughtry's basket with 2:43 to play. Lynx guard Maya Moore, the former Collins Hill High star, answered with an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.
“If that shot doesn't go in, who knows what would have happened,” Dream coach Marynell Meadors said.
After Harding made two free throws, a scramble for a loose ball led to two free throws by McCoughtry and the Dream stole the resulting inbound pass. Harding missed a jumper but Dream center Erika de Souza rebounded, leading to a 3-pointer by Iziane Castro Marques that cut the lead to 64-63 with 1:17 left.
Minnesota center Taj McWilliams-Franklin pushed the lead to 66-63 with two free throws. The Lynx then rebounded McCoughtry's miss and Lindsay Whalen made a free throw for a 67-63 lead with 51.5 seconds remaining.
After McCoughtry missed again, McWilliams-Franklin made two more free throws to push Minnesota's advantage to 69-63. That put a damper on the arena's rowdy atmosphere and some Dream fans started filing out.
McCoughtry broke her own finals record by scoring 38 points in Game 2. She had a game-high 22 points Friday but missed 16 of 25 shots.
“The other night she had more room to get off her shots,” said Minnesota forward Seimone Augustus, who was named finals MVP. “Tonight we smothered her.”
The announced crowed topped the previous record of 11,442 for the Dream's game against Connecticut in their inaugural season of 2008. Moore, the two-time Naismith Prep Player of the Year at Collins Hill, had a sizable and vocal cheering section.
“We had a good crowd cheering for us,” said Moore, who scored six of her 15 points in the third quarter. “It felt good to have somebody to point to and smile at when it was done.”
Moore's fans included hip-hop artist Lil' Wayne, who posted a Twitter message in support of Moore and Augustus before the game. He wore an Augustus jersey until taking it off in the second quarter, apparently at the request of Dream officials.
NBA legend and Atlanta resident Julius Erving and Hawks forward Josh Smith also were at the game. They joined fans in trying to urge the Dream to close out the Lynx after Atlanta led 37-33 at halftime.
But the lead was gone in a little over two minutes as Moore scored to tie it 39-39. Minnesota led 52-45 entering the fourth quarter and used smothering defense and and big baskets to clinch the championship.
The Dream had several injuries early in the season but recovered from a 3-9 start to make the playoffs. They swept Connecticut in two games in the first round, then came back to beat Indiana in three games despite de Souza leaving to play for the Brazilian national team after Atlanta lost Game 1.
The Dream faltered in the opening game of the finals when Minnesota went on a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to win 88-74. Atlanta lost Game 2 101-95 after leading 85-81 with five minutes left.
“We fought hard all season long,” Meadors said. “We had so much adversity. I appreciate their effort. I think we just ran out.”
It didn't take long for the game 3 to take on same physical tone as the two previous games.
Late in the first quarter Minnesota's Jessica Adair got tangled up with Dream center Alison Bales and both crashed to the floor. Adair was called for the foul and Minnesota coach Reeve erupted in protest, earned a technical foul from official Michael Price.
It looked like the Dream would build a sizable lead a few times before halftime but they were stymied by long scoring droughts.
The Dream, boosted by their boisterous fans, ran out to leads of 4-0 and 8-2. They were ahead 19-12 late in the first period but then came up empty on six consecutive possessions.
Alison Bales' 3-pointer extended Atlanta's lead to 23-17 early in the second quarter. Moore was fouled as she made a 3-pointer; she missed the free throw but got the rebound and passed to Candice Wiggins for a 3-pointer that tied it 23-23.
Minnesota scored just four points over the final 4:32 for the half but Atlanta couldn't do much better. The Dream shot 39 percent from the field and made 6 of 10 free-throw attempts in the half.
About the Author
