Atlanta Dream beat Los Angeles Sparks 101-92 as Angel Reese, Allisha Gray lead fourth-quarter comeback
The Atlanta Dream needed a big moment late, and Angel Reese delivered one.
Reese hit a go-ahead three-pointer with under four minutes to play, helping Atlanta erase a two-point deficit and pull away for a 101-92 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday at Gateway Center Arena.
Reese finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. It was her 16th double-double of the season, the most in the WNBA. She shot 8-for-8 from the free throw line and added three steals. Allisha Gray scored 20 points and had two steals, Jordin Canada contributed 16 points and nine assists, and all five starters finished in double figures for the fourth time this season.
Isobel Borlase added 10 points off the bench, providing a lift early, while Madina Okot chipped in nine points and six rebounds.
The Dream led by as many as 11 points in the first half before Los Angeles stormed back in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 83 with about six minutes remaining. Turnovers and defensive breakdowns nearly cost Atlanta the game, but Reese's three-pointer at the 3:26 mark broke the tie and the Dream never trailed again.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Gray said. "Just really locking in, making minimal mistakes and making big buckets. Angel made some big buckets for us down the stretch. Rye hit a big three for us. When our big players step up and make big plays, the energy from Angel really got us pumped up and we were able to finish the game."
Rhyne Howard added a dagger three-pointer with 36 seconds left to push the lead to 99-87 and seal it. Canada then iced the game with two free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Head coach Karl Smesko praised Reese's development from the three-point line, which has been a work in progress since training camp.
"She's definitely been working on it since training camp," Smesko said. "She had a really good release on that one. She got her follow through the way she wanted to do it. To do it with the game tied late in the fourth quarter, to hit the shot that you've been working on for months to help you win, that was definitely a fun moment for everybody."
Smesko acknowledged the fourth quarter nearly slipped away before Atlanta regrouped.
"The beginning of the fourth quarter, just about everything that could go wrong kind of did," Smesko said. "We fell down, there was a transition basket, we had a few turnovers. It just seemed like we couldn't get anything going. What I'm happy about is when things go wrong like that, to regroup and then make the plays necessary to win, sometimes that can be difficult."
Borlase, a key member of what the bench players call the "Stay Ready" crew, said her group's mentality is always to be prepared when called upon.
"We never know when our name's going to get called, and our job is to help out the starters and just keep the train rolling whenever we get on," Borlase said. "It's a fun group of girls and we try to get the best out of each other, whether we play a lot or we don't."
Gray said the priority now is building off the momentum of two straight wins rather than celebrating.
"One win at this point is not enough," Gray said. "Celebrate it tonight, and then we're on to the next game because it's time to lock in and string wins together."
For Los Angeles, Erica Wheeler led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Nneka Ogwumike added 19 and Rae Burrell finished with 18, but the Sparks committed 18 turnovers. Atlanta scored 17 points off those miscues and could not overcome a 54-point effort in the paint from the Dream.
