Arie McDonald made a three with 42 seconds remaining to give the Atlanta Dream, which had been down by 19, an 80-77 lead over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. After Diamond Miller (32 seconds) and Kayla McBride (24 seconds) missed Minnesota shots, Atlanta made it a two-possession game with free throws; It won 83–77.
The Dream’s 19-point comeback win against Minnesota tonight is the biggest win in franchise history.
— Atlanta Dream PR (@ATLDreamPR) May 24, 2023
Elisha Gray matched a career high on September 4, 2020 with 26 points. She was 3 of 6 from downtown and added 10 rebounds and two blocks. He did well in Atlanta’s opener as well, finishing with 10 points, seven boards and seven assists. On Tuesday, he made two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to make the score 82–77. He also hit a three with 2:57 remaining to cut the Dream deficit to 77–75 and converted a 3-point play at 7:43 in the fourth that cut it to 71–67.
2022 Rookie of the Year Ryne Howard had just eight points for Atlanta (1-1), but made a crucial three that cut it to 75-72 with 3:33 left. He had six assists and three steals. McDonald finished with only six points, but also had six assists, and was the only Dream player besides Gray to play more than 30 minutes. Naz Hillmon added 13 points for the winners, Cheyenne Parker added 12 and Eddie Durr added seven with three assists.
Minnesota (0-2) was led by Nafisa Collier’s 20 points, five boards, five assists and two swipes. Jessica Shepard was good for eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the loss.
Dream shot 18-of-20 at the free throw line.
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Connecticut Sun over Washington Mystics, 88-81
A layup by the Suns’ Devana Bonner with 52 seconds remaining made it a two-possession game for good. Washington’s Elena Delle Donne layup with 1:14 left to cut it to 81–79.
Alyssa Thomas has had a point-rebound double-double for the Suns (3-0) in each of her three games this year. He has also finished in at least half-to-double digits in the assists column in all three competitions. On Tuesday, she posted 22 points, 10 boards, five assists and two steals at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. She was 6-of-9 from the field and 10-of-16 on the charity stripe.
After two quiet games for Tiffany Hayes – both of which she played under 23 minutes – she played 30:46, scoring 13 points and an impressive eight assists for Connecticut. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points, four assists and two swipes for the winners, while Brionna Jones had 12 points and six boards and Natisha Hiedeman had 13 points and two steals.
Dale Donne (27 points) and Brittany Sykes were 10 points apart for the Mystics (1-2) and both had seven rebounds and four assists. 2022 All-Rookie Team member Shakira Austin picked up where she started with another big game on Sunday: 14 points, eight boards and three swipes in the loss. So, despite the loss, the Mystics had some great individual performances.
