Aces survive furious Dream comeback to push win streak to four
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
It was shaping up to be a tremendous end to the East Coast road trip, with the Las Vegas Aces leading by as much as 19 points in an attempt at ruining the home opener of the Atlanta Dream.
However, as the Dream had tried to do all game, they came roaring back with a vengeance. The floor at State Farm Arena started to tilt in favor of the home team, and it was suddenly the Aces who found themselves on the back foot. What was once a commanding lead turned into an emotional roller coaster finish.
Ultimately, it was Chelsea Gray who came up with the final plays needed to push the Aces to a four-game win streak, helping her team escape Atlanta with an 85-84 victory.
“That’s who she is,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon in her postgame press conference. “The bigger the moment, the bigger she gets. I have the ultimate trust in the group down the stretch.”
Touch of Gray
When she needed to be at her best, Gray delivered for the Aces throughout the entire game.
The longtime point guard was the best player on the floor for Las Vegas, putting up 21 points (including five of eight on three-point shots), six assists and five rebounds. However, nothing topped her final sequence, when the Aces were down by one point with 36 seconds remaining. After Jackie Young came away with a jump ball, Gray was able to hit a mid-range jumper to push the Aces back into the lead, than stole the ball from Atlanta’s Allisha Gray to ice the game away.
“It felt like a playoff environment,” said Gray about the home opener crowd in Atlanta. “When you get those type of road wins early in the season, it speaks to the togetherness and it speaks to our chemistry and our grit really down the stretch.”
Stuffing the scoresheet
While Gray deserves her flowers for her performance against the Dream, plenty of other Aces should share in the credit.
A’ja Wilson continued to shine with 20 points, marking the third consecutive game she has reached that point, along with six rebounds and two blocks. Chennedy Carter and NaLyssa Smith also hit double digits with 20 and 13 points, respectively. Even Young, who was held without a point for the first time since 2020, contributed elsewhere with seven assists, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“I felt good about my game,” said Carter. “Obviously, I want to help the team close in the fourth quarter, if possible, but it was a good game.”
Efficiency matters
The Dream had their opportunities to make the lead manageable, but just were never able to make good on their chances.
Atlanta shot a paltry 22 percent from beyond the three-point line, with Te-Hina Paopao responsible for four of the Dream’s five makes. The Aces also made life difficult for Angel Reese in her first game in Atlanta, forcing the third-year star into eight turnovers and limiting her to single-digit points and rebounds for the first time this season. The starkest difference, however, came at the free throw line, where the Dream shot over double the attempts at the charity stripe than the Aces (37 to 17), but only making 67 percent of their chances; for context, the Aces made good on 77 percent of their attempts.
“The one thing that jumps out to me is just the foul discrepancy,” said Hammon. “You definitely don’t want to foul a team and send them to the line 37 times.”
“We can win when it’s ugly. That’s the lesson here. Win when it’s hard, win through that adversity.”
The Aces now get an opportunity to reset from the intense matchup, with their next game not coming until Saturday when the Los Angeles Sparks head to Michelob ULTRA Arena for Banner Night.
