Atlanta Dream Top Phoenix Mercury

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WNBA Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream Top Phoenix Mercury

August 21, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Atlanta Dream News Release


The Atlanta Dream started Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Tina Charles for the third time this season.

The Dream's all-time record against the Mercury moves to 14-27 overall and 11-10 when playing in Atlanta. The Dream now even the 2024 Regular Season series at 1-1 and break a tie when hosting the Mercury at Gateway Center.

Charles advanced to No. 2 on the WNBA's All-Time Scoring List, passing Tina Thompson with a three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Charles has scored 7,491 points in her career. The center recorded her eleventh double-double with 12 points and season-high 17 rebounds.

Gray added a team-high of 21 points, with two assists and three rebounds. She shot 6-for-14 from the field and 3-for-8 from 3-point range.

Howard followed with 19 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal. The guard surpassed 1,500 career points to become one of seven players in Dream franchise history to reach the milestone.

The Dream outrebounded Phoenix 47-33, and outscored the visitors in second chance points, 14-4.

The Dream have now won three games in a row, all against teams above .500.

Quotes:

Charles on reaching No. 2 on the WNBA's All-Time Scoring List...

"It's just really full circle for me, just in my career, for it to have been done alongside Tanisha, one of the most impactful teammates and person that that I have in my life. I'm just very thankful, a lot of gratitude to be on the court with [Taurasi], to be behind [Taurasi], to be in the same sentence. It's just unimaginable."

Wright on her favorite memory playing with Charles overseas...

"Just the competitiveness. Most of my favorite memories are practices. We went in and practiced hard every single day. We competed hard in practice every single day, and we were super competitive to where if we didn't win drills, we wanted to go over. We wanted to do it again."

Gray on the team's momentum since returning from the Olympic Break...

"I think everybody has bought in. We know what we need to execute. We worked really hard during the Olympic Break, and it's a great turnaround. It's nice to have everybody back healthy, so that makes it even more enjoyable as well."

Game Summary:

Q1:

The Dream offense wasted no time finding its momentum, going on a 17-4 run after Canada got the offense rolling with four consecutive points.

As Atlanta's run grew, the group held Phoenix scoreless for almost six full minutes in the first.

The Dream held the Mercury to shooting just 13.3% from the field, resulting in a new season-low in points scored for a quarter.

Atlanta shot 40% from the field and 85.7% from the free throw line.

Howard headlined the Dream with six points in the opening quarter, going 2-for-5 from the field.

Charles followed with five points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Atlanta outscored the Mercury in the paint, 8-2 and outrebounded the Mercury 12-7. The Dream made as many free throws (6) as the Mercury managed points in the quarter.

Q2:

After a Phoenix run, Gray knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Atlanta lead, 30-25.

Charles then found Howard for the Dream's third 3-pointer in a two-minute stretch, culminating in a 10-1 Atlanta run to end the half.

The Dream scored 10 of the 11 final points in the second quarter.

Howard and Gray combined for 14 of the Dream's 15 points in the second. Howard went 2-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line, while Gray shot 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

Atlanta's five 3-point shots in the first half were the game's only conversions from beyond the arc. The Dream defense forced Phoenix to miss all its seven 3-point shots.

Q3:

With three minutes remaining in the period, Canada was responsible for 84.6% of the team's third quarter offense. The guard had recorded four assists for 11 points.

Atlanta outrebounded Phoenix, 9-8, in the third quarter, including five offensive rebounds by the Dream.

Gray led the Dream with eight points, going 3-for-4 from the field.

Hillmon grabbed three rebounds during the period, leading all Dream players.

Q4:

Twenty seconds into the quarter, Charles advanced to No. 2 on the WNBA's All-Time Scoring List with a three-pointer. Cubaj recorded the assist to a trailing Charles, who knocked down the shot from the top of the key. The 3-poiner marked her eleventh double-double of the season.

The Dream opened the period on an 11-0 run, forcing an early timeout from the visitors after guard Maya Caldwell knocked down three consecutive jump shots.

Atlanta's run snowballed into a 21-4 run as the quarter continued. The Dream's surge marked its second consecutive game with a double-digit run in the fourth.

Halfway through the quarter, Charles' 15th rebound tied her season high in a game. She would break her season record moments later, securing a defensive rebound. Charles finished the game with 17 rebounds, 15 of which came from the defensive glass.

The Dream held Phoenix to shooting just 35.3% from the field in the fourth, and three of the Mercury's starters were held to three points each.

Check out the Atlanta Dream Statistics

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