ATLANTA – The Atlanta Dream had a visit this weekend from two of the top teams in the WNBA, and they showed why they deserve to be in that conversation with them. They were in a dog fight against the Minnesota Lynx two days ago, but ended up losing in overtime despite having the lead down the stretch of regulation.

The Dream had to erase that from their memory and turn around to face the New York Liberty. They were ready for that challenge and played a complete game, defeating them 90-81. They held a double-digit lead for most of the game, and when it looked like the Liberty were going to make a run, the Dream answered back. The star of the game was Brionna Jones, who did all of her work in the paint and was the equalizer for the team.

After the game, Brittney Griner was asked to describe Jones and her play this season for the Dream. She had one word.

“Spectacular,” Griner said. “I’ve been on the other side of guarding Bri. She’s an amazing player, getting to play with her and see her basketball IQ in practice and on the court. She’s always talking in the timeouts, telling us different things that she’s seeing, and they’re always the right things. What she does on the court is just amazing, and I get stuck just watching sometimes, like ‘Oh, she got that.'”

Jones finished the game with 21 points and six rebounds, and found different ways to attack her opponent in the paint. She doesn't have a secret for what she does.

“A lot of repetition,” Jones said. “Over time, just getting a lot of reps down there. I know I’m not the quickest, and I’m not jumping the highest, but just being able to get my defender where I want them, and I’m able to finish the play.”

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Dream outlast Liberty, control the game from the start

From beginning to end, the Dream held control of the game and didn't let up. In their last game, they had a lead against the Lynx late, but were not able to execute down the stretch and lost. This time around, the Dream didn't let their foot off the gas and didn't let the Liberty see the light.

Midway through the third quarter, Rhyne Howard went down with an upper-body injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game. When she came back on the bench, she was wearing a sling on her left arm. After the game, head coach Karl Smesko said he didn't have an update on the star.

Despite missing a key player, the Dream kept fighting, and big shots from Allisha Gray and Griner helped them seal the deal.

“When we get these leads, we’re doing a better job of staying locked in and staying aggressive,” Griner said. “It’s easy to go into that time management when you have a lead, but honestly, coach is challenging us to keep going. Don’t settle, because that’s when teams start creeping back up. We had a 20-point lead, and we kind of let them dwindle that down, so that’s a challenge for us moving forward and going deeper into the season.”

The Dream went 1-1 this weekend, and they are continuing to make progress on what they want to look like as the second half of the season approaches.

“We’re stll learning and growing together,” Jones said. “I think every game we’re trying to learn and get better, and it’s showing. Every day we know we’re going to fight together, no matter what. We want to win and want to do whatever it takes. Just being resilient through those runs that other teams are making and throwing it right back at them.”