After it looked like Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale got away with an offensive foul on Atlanta's Allisha Gray, the former came back on Twitter with a clever response on her X account in what turned out to be a comeback overtime victory for the Dream against the Wings. The Dallas Wings' X account tweeted, “Um, we think she's out cold 😖” in response to a video where Gray fell from Ogunbowale's contact and slid from the three-point line into the middle of the paint. Gray ultimately had the last laugh when she quote-tweeted a reply, “But when I woke up we had a W 😂”
The Dream came back from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to trip up the Wings. Atlanta was anchored by Rhyne Howard who played all 45 minutes between the two 20-minute halves and five minute overtime period. Gray, who didn't get that offensive foul, tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Dallas was led by Ogunbowale, who finished with 22 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
With only one of eight playoff spots left, the Dream are in a good position to claim it. They are tied for the eighth seed with the Chicago Sky at 12-22 with six games left to play this season.
Atlanta Dream's late playoff push led by Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray
The Dream are righting the ship after a 7-17 start to the season and a brutal summer stretch that saw them drop eight straight games heading into the Olympic break. The team is 5-5 since play resumed after the Olympics.
The most critical of those games will be their Thursday, September 17 matchup against the Sky, who are also vying for the WNBA's eighth and final playoff seed.
In the short term, Atlanta must face the red-hot Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever on the road. The Dream will need Howard, their leader on the court and 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year, to take over.
Howard has scored 30+ three times this year, including in each of the Dream's two most recent games. The two-time WNBA All-Star can't do it alone though. Gray and Tina Charles make up a high-scoring trio with Howard. Each one averaging at least 15 points per game. Howard doesn't want to settle for missing the postseason, according to Malik Brown's X account.
“It is starting to get to that time, and I’ve only had one taste of the playoffs, so I’m looking to have more, but I know what it’s going to take and I know what I have to do to get there,” Howard said.
The Dream have only made the postseason once since 2019.
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