First Round Game 2: DAL leads 1-0
The Atlanta Dream must halt a troublesome trend when they face the Dallas Wings at Arlington, Texas, in Game 2 of a best-of-three WNBA first-round playoff series Tuesday.
The Dream have lost all four games against the Wings this season by an average of 12 points per contest, including Friday night’s 94-82 defeat in Game 1.
If Atlanta can’t figure out how to defeat Dallas at least once this season, the series — and their season — will end Tuesday.
How does the Dream keep the dream alive?
The fifth-seeded Dream had 16 turnovers Friday and committed 19 fouls, sending the Wings to the free-throw line 27 times. Dallas made more free throws (19) than Atlanta attempted (17).
The Wings were able to erase a 20-point second-quarter deficit and cancel out Rhyne Howard’s 36 points for the Dream, the most ever in a WNBA playoff debut.
Howard was 8 of 15 from 3-point range and added three steals, while Allisha Gray added 21 points. But the Dream made just 36.8 percent of their field-goal attempts.
Fourth-seeded Dallas mixed a great individual performance of its own with superior rebounding to offset Howard. The Wings received 32 points from Satou Sabally and earned a 44-32 advantage on the boards.
Toss in a near triple-double from Arike Ogunbowale (24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) and a double-double from Teaira McCowan (17 points, 14 rebounds) and it put Dallas on the verge of a semifinal clash with the Las Vegas Aces.
If Dallas is unable to clinch the series Tuesday, a deciding Game 3 will take place Friday at Atlanta.
