Subscribe
Follow Us
It's always hard to beat a team two times in a row, and the Atlanta Dream learned that after losing to the Phoenix Mercury 82-80. The Dream won the first matchup, but the Mercury came back around and made sure they would leave Atlanta with a win. Despite the loss, head coach Tanisha Wright was proud of the team's effort and the way they played.
“I thought our group showed tons of resiliency in this game. The energy from the crowd was really great,” Wright told reporters after the game. “Anytime you have players in foul trouble like we did tonight in the first half it can be hard to bounce back from but the resiliency that this group showed to get us back in the game and really compete at a high level, I’m proud of.”
Final. pic.twitter.com/DEhDnfzwDm
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 24, 2024
Wright said before the game that containing Brittney Griner was going to be key, but sometimes good offense beats good defense. Griner had her way in the paint with 22 points, shooting 10-of-13, but the Mercury also made the Dream guard the perimeter so they couldn't double her.
“I thought Phoenix did a good job of spreading us out and going into [Brittney Griner] and making us have to decide if we were going to come out and help, leave their shooters,” Wright said. “We know the way Phoenix likes to play, is they like to shoot from the perimeter and they like to get up as many threes as possible. I thought we did a good job of adjusting in terms of when to come, when not to come, dig in, trap, and things like that.”
“They lost the first one, so obviously they had some adjustments to make, more than we did,” Rhyne Howard said. “It’s hard to beat a team back-to-back, but they made us make tough decisions. They made us have to make a choice on who we wanted to guard.”
Dream's three-game winning streak snapped after lost to Mercury
The first quarter was what hurt the Dream the most, trailing 24-17 going into the second quarter. From then on, the Dream outscored the Mercury in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome.
“I thought we did a good job of fighting back,” Wright said. “The first quarter got away from us a little bit. They made some tough shots no doubt about that. We have to put this one behind us and get focused on the game Monday against Indiana.”
The Dream still had a chance to tie the game at the end with a play they're very familiar with running, but the shot just didn't fall.
“I thought we got a great look. I thought they executed it very well. It’s a set that we’ve run in practice before so they knew exactly what was coming, and I thought we had a great look,” Wright said. “Sometimes you make them, sometimes you don’t but you want to put yourselves in position to get the shot, and we got the shot that we wanted.”
Allisha Gray finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, Rhyne Howard finished with 16 points, and Tina Charles finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
With the Dream still fighting to get into the top 8, every game matters, but it also matters what happens above them. The Chicago Sky, who are one game ahead of the Dream in the Eastern Conference, lost a close game against the Connecticut Sun. The Dream will be able to make some ground once again in the standings when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever come to Atlanta on Aug. 26, who are currently in third place in the conference.
