‘It’s A Tough Way To Lose’: Dallas Wings Squander 15-Point Lead In 82-81 Defeat To Atlanta Dream

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings led by as many as 15 points and lost 82-81 to the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night in front of 6,251 at a sold-out College Park Center. Allisha Gray scored the last 5 points of the game, making 3 free throws with 18.7 seconds left and hitting a 12-foot fadeaway with 15 seconds to go.

Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a season-high 4 steals. She shot 9-of-16 and made all 5 of her free throws. Azzi Fudd scored 20 on 9-of-13 shooting.

Jessica Shepard posted 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for her 19th double-double, which leads the WNBA. It was her eighth in a row, the longest double-double streak in franchise history. Shepard played all 40 minutes. Paige Bueckers added 16 points and 6 assists, her 19th game this season with double-figure points and at least 5 assists, third-most in the league.

Dallas’ starters scored 80 of the team’s 81 points. The Wings’ bench was outscored 21-1.

Atlanta never led by more than 2 points. There were 7 lead changes and 5 ties, and the Dream’s 30-point fourth quarter erased a 12-point deficit.

Dallas fell to 18-10. Atlanta improved to 17-10, swept the three-game season series, and now leads the all-time series 32-20.

Wings coach Jose Fernandez met with reporters afterward at College Park Center.

“I don’t want to say we got tight, but the points in the paint hurt us. That was one thing,” Fernandez said. “Then you’re up five or six points, we missed some free throws, and we gave up some free throw block-outs. All of that stuff adds up.”

The Dream finished with 58 points in the paint to Dallas’ 40. Atlanta held a 37-32 rebounding edge and took 12 offensive rebounds to Dallas’ 8. The Dream also had 22 assists on 31 field goals. Dallas won fast-break scoring 15-4 and turned 16 Atlanta turnovers into 22 points, while the Dream scored 15 off Dallas’ 18.

Bueckers was asked what Atlanta did over the closing stretch.

“They made tough shots, got to the free throw line, and just executed a little bit better than us,” Bueckers said.

Jessica Shepard and Arike Ogunbowale Give the Wings an Early Lead

Fernandez started Bueckers, Fudd, Ogunbowale, Awak Kuier, and Shepard for the 14th time this season. Dream coach Karl Smesko countered with Jordin Canada, Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon, and Angel Reese, a group that entered 17-6.

Kuier won the opening tip against Reese and directed it to Shepard, who scored on a driving finger roll 6 seconds into the game. Shepard and Ogunbowale combined for Dallas’ first 8 points. The Wings led 8-4 after Ogunbowale made two free throws with 6:44 left in the quarter.

Shepard shot 4-of-5 for 8 points in the first quarter. Dallas shot 50% as a team. Atlanta shot 6-of-16 and grabbed 6 offensive rebounds in the period, four more than Dallas managed on its own glass. Howard missed all four of her first-quarter attempts.

Brionna Jones came off the bench at the 6:44 mark and went 3-of-3 for 6 points in 4:49. Her driving reverse layup with 30.1 seconds left tied the game at 16, and the teams went to the second quarter even. Isobel Borlase added 4 points off the Atlanta bench in the quarter.

Gray’s driving floater 45 seconds into the second quarter gave the Dream their first lead at 18-16. Atlanta led three more times over the next four minutes. The margin never reached 3.

From a 26-26 tie with 5:50 left in the half, Dallas ran off 10 straight points. Bueckers scored on a cutting finger roll. Fudd hit a 13-foot pullup. Ogunbowale drove for a finger roll. Fudd hit an 18-foot pullup. Shepard closed the run with a driving layup for a 36-26 lead with 2:22 on the clock.

Fernandez opened the second quarter with Aziaha James and Sug Sutton on the floor alongside Ogunbowale, Shepard, and Kuier. Both were back on the bench by the 8:07 mark.

Gray scored 4 quick points in the final 1:14 of the half. Gray then fouled Li Yueru in the penalty with 22.3 seconds left, and Atlanta assistant coach Brandi Poole was assessed a technical foul during the stoppage. Bueckers made the technical free throw. Yueru made 1 of 2. Reese scored on a cutting layup with 3.9 seconds on the clock, and the Dream trailed 38-32 at the break after closing on a 6-2 run.

Ogunbowale had 12 points at halftime. Reese had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Dallas shot 56.2% in the second quarter.

Azzi Fudd’s Back-to-Back Threes Push Dallas Ahead by 15

Bueckers opened the third quarter with a 15-foot pullup. Kuier hit a 17-footer off an Ogunbowale feed for a 44-34 lead.

Fudd stole a Canada pass with 6:20 left and pulled up from 26 feet in transition. Twenty-nine seconds later she hit another 26-footer, this one off a pass from Yueru, for a 50-37 lead.

Ogunbowale’s fast-break finger roll with 2:59 remaining made it 56-41, the largest lead of the night. Smesko called timeout one second later.

Canada turned the ball over seven times. Dallas scored 8 points off Atlanta’s four third-quarter giveaways.

Atlanta closed the quarter on a 6-0 run behind a Jones putback and 4 points from Borlase. Ogunbowale scored on a layup with 1.7 seconds left, added a technical free throw after Howard was whistled on the same stoppage, and completed the three-point play. Dallas led 64-52 after three.

Ogunbowale scored 10 in the quarter and was 8-of-12 for the game. Shepard grabbed 6 rebounds in the period. Dallas shot 57.9%, Atlanta 40%.

“I thought our defense was, right until the end, really good,” Fudd said. “I thought we were locked in on our coverages, our schemes, and what we were trying to accomplish.”

The Atlanta Dream Score 30 in the Fourth Quarter

Atlanta opened the final period on a 10-4 run, closing to 68-62 on a Hillmon cutting layup with 6:19 left. Fernandez called timeout six seconds later.

Dallas answered. Fudd drove for a layup. Kuier finished in transition off an Ogunbowale pass. Ogunbowale scored on a driving bank shot. Ogunbowale then stole a Reese pass with 4:13 left, and Fudd converted in transition for a 76-67 lead with 4:06 on the clock.

The Dream scored the next 6 points. Gray made two free throws, hit an 11-foot turnaround bank shot off a Howard assist, and Reese made two more free throws to cut it to 76-73 with 1:57 to play.

Atlanta shot 11-of-14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Dallas attempted 4 free throws in the period and made 2.

The Wings shot 7-of-20 in the quarter, 35%, and went 1-of-5 from three. Dallas grabbed 8 offensive rebounds in those 10 minutes after managing 3 across the first three quarters. Shepard pulled down 7 rebounds in the fourth.

Gray scored 13 in the quarter. Howard and Reese scored 6 apiece.

“Obviously Dallas outplayed us for most of it. We were just able to hang around and make a couple plays at the end to leave here with a win,” Smesko said. “We feel very fortunate.”

Smesko pointed to Atlanta’s first-half execution coming out of the break.

“We had the longest break, and it kind of looked like it. We were sloppy with our offensive execution,” Smesko said. “Offensively, we’d have 20-second possessions with only two or three passes. That’s not how we want to play. In the fourth quarter, we started playing with a different pace, and that’s how we need to play from the beginning.”

The Final 18.7 Seconds

Bueckers hit a 24-foot step-back three with 1:26 to play for a 79-73 lead.

Yueru blocked a Reese reverse layup seven seconds later. Jones missed a cutting layup with 1:10 left. Reese blocked a Shepard jumper with 47.7 seconds remaining, Ogunbowale rebounded, and Dallas was called for a shot-clock violation at 45.7 seconds. Fernandez used a timeout.

Yueru fouled Canada in the penalty with 38.8 seconds left, and Canada made 1 of 2 for 79-74. Reese fouled Shepard 2 seconds later, and Shepard missed both. Jones rebounded.

Howard pulled up from 26 feet with 25.3 seconds on the clock, off a Canada assist, for Atlanta’s only three-pointer of the game. Dallas led 79-77.

Canada fouled Bueckers with 23.1 seconds left. Bueckers made both for 81-77. Fernandez called timeout and substituted Kuier for Yueru.

Official Kevin Fahy called a flagrant 1 on Ogunbowale with 18.7 seconds remaining, on a Gray three-point attempt. Gray made all three free throws for 81-80, and Atlanta kept the ball. Gray scored her fadeaway over the Dallas defense with 15 seconds left off a Howard assist.

Kuier missed a 23-foot step-back three with 2 seconds on the clock. Shepard rebounded and missed a tip at the buzzer.

Fernandez challenged the flagrant call.

“Initially they said the foul was on the shot, and then they said it was a landing-space foul. I challenged the foul, but apparently instead of getting hit on the arm, it was ruled a landing-space violation,” Fernandez said. “That’s here nor there. You can track calls and certain officials and do all that. If we defend better in the fourth quarter, don’t give up offensive rebounds, make our free throws, then we finish the game. It doesn’t come down to that last possession that everybody remembers.”

Fernandez did not call timeout on either of Dallas’ final two sideline out-of-bounds possessions.

“It depends on the time, score, and opponent,” Fernandez said. “We felt that on sideline out-of-bounds plays tonight, Atlanta is the No. 1 defensive team in the league. I didn’t want to call a timeout and let them set their defense. We figured if we got the ball in and flowed into transition, we’d get a better shot than we ended up with. But we had two sideline out-of-bounds possessions that became live-ball turnovers. That’s what my concern was.”

Atlanta’s opponents have scored 21 points on 16 sideline out-of-bounds possessions in clutch time this season, 1.313 points per possession, per Synergy Sports. Clutch time covers the final five minutes or overtime with the score within 5 points. Those possessions came across 8 games. Teams shot 6-of-9 on them, a 66.7% field-goal mark and an 83.3% effective field-goal mark. Atlanta forced turnovers on 18.8% of them. All 16 came against man defense.

Bueckers gave the ball up to Shepard on the last possession and did not get it back.

“I definitely could have kept it and gone to the rim to try to create something in the paint. I think I should have kept it and tried to create, but playing pitch-and-catch with Jess has been very efficient, too,” Bueckers said. “But, I mean, yeah, just a tough final possession.”

Gray finished with 25 points and went 9-of-9 from the free-throw line in 34:21. It was her 13th 20-point game of the season.

“It worked out perfectly,” Gray said of the winner. “Coach drew it up and said, ‘Go get the ball and go score.’ That’s what I did.”

Gray called the free throws the harder of the two moments.

“It’s just different when nobody else is on the lane. It’s a different feeling, different atmosphere,” Gray said.

Assistant coach Camryn Brown handles the Dream’s late-game sideline out-of-bounds sets, per Smesko.

“I thought she drew up some really good plays that the players executed well,” Smesko said. “Defensively, we locked in, made Dallas take tough shots, rebounded the ball, and when we decided whether to foul or push without using a timeout, the players really executed at a high level.”

The crew of Fahy, Ashley Gloss, and RJ Johnson called 20 fouls on Atlanta and 19 on Dallas.

Atlanta Dream Make One Three-Pointer and Still Win

Atlanta shot 44.3% from the field and went 1-of-16 from three, 6.2%. Per the Wings, it was the first time a Dallas opponent made one or fewer threes since Sept. 18, 2016.

The Dream went 19-of-25 from the free-throw line. Dallas shot 49.3% from the field, 26.7% from three, and 9-of-14 from the line, 64.3%. It was the second time this season the Wings have shot under 65% at the line. The other also came against Atlanta, on May 22.

Fernandez had raised Atlanta’s interior scoring at each of his availabilities over the two days before tip-off.

“Their size and us not being able to contain the dribble,” Fernandez said. “Points in the paint, either by dribble penetration, post entries, or second-chance baskets. Nothing changed from what I talked about over the last two days. That’s what they’re good at.”

Dallas Scores on 6 of 24 Half-Court Possessions in the Fourth Quarter

Dallas ran 24 half-court possessions in the fourth quarter and scored on 6 of them, per Synergy Sports. Atlanta ran 18 and scored on 12. The Wings finished the quarter with 18 scoreless half-court possessions after posting 10, 11, and 9 in the first three.

Atlanta scored 1.444 points per possession in the half-court over the final 10 minutes. Dallas scored 0.542.

Across the full game, Dallas ran 76 half-court possessions and scored on 28, at 0.789 points per possession. Atlanta ran 72 and scored on 31, at 0.889. Neither team logged a zone possession. All 148 half-court possessions came against man defense.

Dallas reached the last 4 seconds of the shot clock on 6 fourth-quarter possessions and scored on none of them. The Wings ran 13 such possessions for the game at 0.692 points per possession, and Atlanta ran 8 at 0.750.

Atlanta ran 11 post-up possessions to Dallas’ 4 and produced 1.273 points per possession. Ten of the 11 came against a single defender and returned 1.400. Four came in the fourth quarter, Atlanta’s most in any period.

The Dream ran 12 possessions off their own offensive rebounds at 1.429 points per possession, 7 of them put-backs. Dallas ran 8 at 1.333, and 5 of those came in the fourth quarter.

On spot-ups, Atlanta scored 0.308 points per possession over 13 possessions. Dallas scored 0.167 over 12.

Dallas ran 8 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions in the fourth quarter, its most in any period, and scored 0.476 points per possession on 21 for the game. Atlanta ran 32 at 0.688.

The Wings ran 11 isolation possessions and scored 0.818 points per possession, with 6 of them coming in the third quarter. Isolations against a single defender returned 1.286 over 7 possessions. Atlanta ran 1 isolation all night and scored nothing on it.

Dallas ran 13 handoff possessions to Atlanta’s 3 and scored 1.077 points per possession. Both teams ran 4 possessions off screens and both scored 1.750.

Atlanta ran 24 transition possessions at 0.750 points per possession. Dallas ran 14 at 1.357. The official book credits Dallas with a 15-4 edge in fast-break points.

Out of timeouts in the fourth quarter, Atlanta scored 1.800 points per possession over 5 possessions and Dallas scored 0.500 over 4. Across the full game, the two finished within 0.008 of each other, Dallas at 0.700 and Atlanta at 0.692.

Atlanta ran 5 sideline out-of-bounds possessions in the fourth quarter at 1.600 points per possession. For the game the Dream ran 8 at 1.250 and Dallas ran 11 at 1.111.

Atlanta finished with 96 tracked possessions to Dallas’ 90.

Alanna Smith Is Available and Does Not Play

Alanna Smith was available and did not play. The Wings forward had been upgraded from probable earlier Wednesday, carrying a right leg injury, after practicing Monday and going through Tuesday’s full session.

“We’ll see how she feels tonight and what kind of minutes she can handle,” Fernandez said before the game. “We’ve been without her for a while, and we’ve leaned heavily on Li Yueru, Maddy Siegrist, Awak Kuier, Jessica Shepard, and Alysha Clark in the frontcourt. She’s not just going to step back in as the first post player off the bench tonight. It’s going to take more than two practices after the All-Star break for her to get fully back into rhythm.”

Smith is listed in the official book as a coach’s decision, alongside Alysha Clark and Maddy Siegrist.

Smith has appeared in 20 of Dallas’ 28 games with seven starts. She averages 3.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.2 minutes.

She played both May meetings with Atlanta and went 2-of-11 from the field, missing all 8 of her three-point attempts. Her minutes dropped from 26:42 in Arlington on May 12 to 10:18 in Atlanta on May 22.

Basketball Australia named Smith to the Opals roster for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin from Sept. 4-13.

Li Yueru’s Four Fourth-Quarter Fouls and Atlanta’s Size

Dallas used nine players. Yueru logged 23:43. Odyssey Sims, James, and Sutton combined for 7:43 and did not score.

Yueru committed all 4 of her fouls in the fourth quarter, in 7:30 of floor time. Two came in the penalty and sent Atlanta to the line. She also blocked 2 shots and finished with 1 point.

Ogunbowale picked up 4 of her 5 fouls in the fourth quarter and scored 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting in the period.

Fernandez went to Yueru in the first half and matched her against Atlanta’s post rotation.

“Their size,” Fernandez said. “With Angel Reese, Madina Okot, Brionna Jones, and Naz Hillmon, we needed Li to play minutes there. Whenever they went with Brionna Jones, we made that substitution. I was proud of our team’s effort, our energy, and our physicality. It’s a tough way to lose a basketball game, but now you’ve got to put it behind you, respond, and go get Washington.”

Kuier played 16:17, the fewest of any Dallas starter, and finished with 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Brionna Jones and the Atlanta Dream Bench

Reese had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals for her 18th double-double of the season. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. She finished with 5 fouls in 33:36.

Jones added 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 21:04 and led both teams at plus-12. Borlase scored 10 in 17:16. The two accounted for all 21 of Atlanta’s bench points.

Jones missed both May meetings with Dallas with a right knee injury and has since returned to Atlanta’s rotation.

“She played roughly half the game, had 11 points and seven rebounds, and I think she had the best plus-minus on the team,” Smesko said. “She’s still building back up after being out for so long, but we’re definitely a much better team when she’s on the floor.”

Canada finished with 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, her 24th game with at least 5 assists in 27 appearances. Howard had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Rookie Madina Okot played 2:54, all in the second quarter, and collected her 100th career rebound. Atlanta drafted Okot 13th overall in April.

Atlanta played without Te-Hina Paopao, who is out with a right leg injury.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times, and Dallas has continued to get better every single game,” Reese said. “They’ve beaten a lot of great teams, and they’re not the same team we played the first time.”

Reese said she addressed the group before tip-off.

“Before the game I told everybody we had to walk the walk. I don’t think we had done that enough during the first half of the season, knowing how good we are,” Reese said.

Dallas closes out July at the Washington Mystics on Friday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ION.