When the WNBA’s coldest team faced off against one of the league’s hottest squads, the result was not surprising.
The Las Vegas Aces, who have won nine of their last 10, handed the Dream their sixth straight loss with an 84-70 victory on Friday at Gateway Center Arena.
Atlanta’s (7-15) season is going the opposite direction of Vegas’ as the Dream have lost nine of their last 10 and 13 of their last 16 after opening the season with a 4-2 record.
The Dream are undergoing their longest losing streak since losing 11 in a row in 2021.
“I thought we had a really good fight and really good push to make the game more interesting down the stretch,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said. “I’m enjoying coaching the fight of this team right now.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Vegas (15-7) led almost the entire way after starting the game with an 8-0 run. The Dream took their lone lead of the evening when they started the second quarter with an 8-0 run but A’ja Wilson hit three 3-pointers to give the Aces a lead they did not surrender.
Wilson finished with a double-double of 33 points and 18 rebounds. She also tallied three steals and five blocks. It was Wilson’s seventh game this season in which she scored 30-plus points, setting a career high.
“Playing against [Wilson] is always fun,” said Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who scored a team-high 17 points for the Dream. “It gives me a competitive edge. She’s a great player. It’s hard to stop her. I just try to go back at her and make her play defense as well.”
In the first 2024 meeting between the teams – a 78-74 Dream win on May 31, the Aces were without Chelsea Gray. Gray had an impact on Friday with five points, five assists and three boards.
“Chelsea is an Olympian and she’s the best point guard in this league, hands down,” Wright said. “She’s a floor general [who] leads their team. She’s an amazing playmaker. She gets everyone else involved. It takes things off everyone else’s shoulder.”
Vegas led by as many as 17 and Atlanta was down by double digits for most of the second half. The Dream made a fourth-quarter push, cutting the deficit to eight when Allisha Gray hit a free throw to make the score 72-64 with three minutes to play.
After Chelsea Gray missed a layup, Allisha Gray committed a turnover which led to a 10-2 run that gave the Aces an 82-66 lead with a minute to play.
“We have to continue to fight,” Wright said. “When we have opportunities down the stretch to hone in and focus and execute both offensively and defensively in terms of our schemes and not get fatigued, (continuing to fight) is basically it. We have to focus down the stretch. I love the fight this team is giving. We understand we’re without some big guns – some really good players. That’s OK. That’s just part of it. We have to continue to fight and play hard.”
A positive for the Dream is that they outscored the Aces 42-16 in points in the paint, but Vegas drained 12 3-pointers (12 of 29) and shot 41.4% (29 of 70) as a team.
“You get points in the paint when you’re running in transition,” Wright said. “That’s something that has been an emphasis for us for the last month. We’re getting some easy points. I thought [Parker-Tyus] did a great job of not settling and getting points in the paint as well.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Another positive was Maya Caldwell, who returned to the Dream after being signed in June. Caldwell started and tallied 13 points. In 2022, Caldwell signed with the Dream, averaging 10.9 points and 2.2 assists per game in nine appearances. Last season, Caldwell joined the Indiana Fever and played in 30 games.
“Every time I come [to the Dream], the energy is great,” Caldwell said. “The goal remains the same: to win, to compete and to keep pushing forward no matter what the outcome. The energy was the same [this season] as it was two years ago.”
Atlanta hits the road for two more games prior to the All-Star and Olympic break. The Dream play at Seattle on Sunday and at Minnesota on Wednesday before taking a monthlong hiatus.
Atlanta is banged up and without Aerial Powers, Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard, so a break gives the Dream a chance to get healthy.
“I think clearly for us it will be a wanted and a needed stoppage for us to get healthy for sure,” Wright said.
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