Allisha Gray's game-winner lifts Atlanta Dream past Dallas Wings 82-81
The Atlanta Dream trailed by double digits for most of the night but pulled off one of their most dramatic wins of the season, beating the Dallas Wings 81-82 on the road behind a clutch performance from Allisha Gray.
Gray scored 25 points, went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and hit the game-winning fadeaway jumper with 15 seconds left to lift Atlanta to its third consecutive win over Dallas this season — sweeping the regular-season series.
Rhyne Howard's three-pointer with 25 seconds to play cut the deficit to one and set the stage for Gray's heroics. Angel Reese recorded her 18th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Brionna Jones returned to contribute 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
Dallas led by as many as 12 points entering the fourth quarter, but Atlanta outscored the Wings 30-17 in the final period. Gray also converted three consecutive free throws after a flagrant foul with 18 seconds left to tie the game before hitting the winning shot.
"Coach drew it up," Gray said simply. "She said go get the ball and go score, and that's what I did."
Reese credited her teammates for keeping the energy high when things looked bleak.
"I told them before the game we gotta walk that walk," Reese said. "Lish and Rhy are pretty quiet, but I always pour into them and tell them y'all know who y'all are. Everybody feeds off the energy."
Coach Karl Smesko acknowledged the Dream were fortunate to escape but pointed to the fourth quarter as a sign of what this team is capable of.
"Dallas outplayed us for most of it," Smesko said. "We were just able to hang around and make a couple plays at the end to leave here with the W. In the fourth quarter we started playing with a different pace, and that's really what we need to be doing from the beginning."
Atlanta finished with 58 points in the paint, 21 bench points and 11 steals. Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 24 points, and Azzi Fudd scored 20 points.
