Already without Angel Reese, Atlanta saw Allisha Gray twice need treatment in the fourth quarter of a sixth defeat in seven games, as Portland shot a season-best 60 per cent from the field.
Atlanta’s difficult night in Portland extended well beyond the scoreboard. Already missing All-Star forward Angel Reese, the Dream watched leading scorer Allisha Gray twice leave for the locker room in the fourth quarter of a 102-92 defeat to the Fire on Saturday — a sixth loss in their past seven games.
Gray, who finished with a team-high 20 points, first went for treatment after being caught by a Megan Gustafson screen with 7:37 remaining. She returned in under a minute, only to head to the locker room again with 3:44 to play. Head coach Karl Smesko had no update on her condition after the game, leaving Atlanta with a second injury concern heading into their final fixture before the All-Star break.
Reese, meanwhile, watched from the bench in a walking boot on her right leg. The forward was ruled out before tip-off after turning her right ankle in Thursday’s win over the Seattle Storm — the Dream’s official recap of that game said she appeared to roll it after landing on an opponent’s foot late on. She had been listed as questionable before Atlanta confirmed she would not play. Rookie centre Madina Okot started in her place and delivered a career-high 19 points.
Portland made the Dream pay with the most efficient shooting display of their season. The Fire hit 60 per cent from the field, tied a season high with 14 three-pointers on 29 attempts, and put seven players in double figures. Gustafson led the way with 17 points, Serah Williams added 15 off the bench, Emily Engstler posted a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, Carla Leite contributed 13 points and 10 assists, and Bridget Carleton scored 12 with four threes. Teja Oblak’s nine points included a string of decisive fourth-quarter baskets. According to the AP, the three Portland reserves it highlighted — Williams, Frieda Buhner and Oblak — combined to shoot a remarkable 14 of 15 from the field.
The frustration for Atlanta was that they won much of the battle everywhere except where it mattered most. The Dream out-rebounded Portland, scored more points in the paint, generated more second-chance points and forced more turnovers — yet shot 44 per cent overall and just 23 per cent from three-point range against opponents who had entered the game shooting only 33.9 per cent from deep this season. Smesko said his team was winning possessions by a margin that would normally decide the vast majority of games, but that no advantage could survive the gap in shooting efficiency. He pointed to three or four defensive miscommunications on Portland’s pick-and-pop actions, where two Atlanta defenders committed to the same player and left shooters free — a mistake, he noted, that a team with this many capable shooters will always punish.
Those breakdowns helped Portland into a 51-44 half-time lead. Atlanta clawed the deficit back to 88-81 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Fire answered every surge, twice scoring back-to-back baskets to close the game out.
All five Dream starters reached double figures. Naz Hillmon scored 15 — moving into tenth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list, a milestone confirmed in Atlanta’s official post-game report — while Jordin Canada recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 assists, more double-doubles than any other guard in the WNBA this year. Rhyne Howard added 10 points and four steals. Hillmon’s verdict on the shooting was blunt: “We got good looks. We just have to knock them down.” She added that whenever Atlanta miscommunicated or over-helped defensively, Portland found the open shooter or the roller.
The result completed a 36-point turnaround from the teams’ first meeting this season, when Atlanta forced 28 turnovers and scored 33 points off them in an 86-66 win on 29 May.
The Dream, now 13-10, face the Los Angeles Sparks next before the All-Star break. Smesko sought to reframe the slump as an opportunity, saying the adversity “could be the best thing that ever happens to us this season” if the team handles it properly, and urged his shooters to keep taking open attempts with confidence.
