Jordin Canada scored on a buzzer-beating layup as the Atlanta Dream survived a blown 22-point lead and an Angel Reese injury to beat Chicago 93-91 Sunday.
Jordin Canada scored on a layup at the buzzer, and the Atlanta Dream survived a blown 22-point lead and a scary knee injury to Angel Reese to beat the Chicago Sky 93-91 on Sunday, Atlanta's 300th win in franchise history.
Reese's knee buckled as she came to a jump stop under the basket early in the fourth quarter, and she fell to the floor as her layup missed. She got up, but went down again moments later and did not return, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, and an assist. Dream coach Karl Smesko said the decision to hold her out wasn't close, even as she wanted back in.
"During the timeout, she looked like she was in a lot of pain, even though she wanted to go back in because she's so competitive," Smesko said. "But Angel the person is very important to us, and I just wasn't comfortable putting someone back on the floor when she appeared to be hurting that much." Smesko had no further update afterward, though he offered one encouraging sign. "Angel was in great spirits celebrating with her teammates afterward, so hopefully I was just being overprotective."
Canada said the response with Reese out fell to whoever was next.
"Angel brings so much energy, toughness and grit. Hopefully she's okay," Canada said. "But with this group it's always next-player-up. Madina came in and gave us huge minutes. She got stops, got touches inside and played really well."
Chicago trailed by 22 points, down 47-25 with 3:18 left in the second quarter, and outscored Atlanta 57-44 the rest of the way to force the finish. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 9.5 seconds left for a two-point Atlanta lead, but Sydney Taylor came off a high screen from Kamilla Cardoso and buried a deep, straightaway 3-pointer to tie it at 91 with four seconds to go. On the ensuing possession, Canada took a handoff from Brionna Jones on the right wing and drove for the winning basket.
"The play was actually designed for Leesh to get downhill off Naz's screen. If she wasn't open, the next option was to find a way to get me the ball so I could attack downhill," Canada said. "As soon as I saw Leesh wasn't open, I turned on the jets. Once I got by JC, I knew it was going to be a wide-open layup."
Smesko said Jone delivered what the situation called for.
"Bri didn't force the pass. She stayed patient, found JC, and JC did the rest with a great finish," Smesko said. "How valuable was Brionna Jones' return? She's such a smart player. We put her in for the last defensive possession, where she helped us get a stop, and then she executed perfectly on the final offensive play. That was actually the first time she'd run that play, and she made exactly the right read."
Gray scored 29 points, leading the Dream (16-10) and surpassing Érika de Souza to become the fifth all-time scorer for Atlanta with 2,528 points.
"The biggest thing was getting this win so we could enjoy the All-Star break, especially for Big Wease," Gray said. "We wanted to win for him so he could enjoy the break too. We also wanted to keep our momentum going so we can pick up where we left off after the break." Asked about the scoring milestone itself, Gray credited the organization for reviving her career after a trade from Dallas. "It means a lot because this organization took a chance on me when they traded for me from Dallas. Coming to Atlanta really revived my career."
Jones scored 6 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes, matching his career high with seven rebounds in the second quarter. Okot added 14 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as Atlanta's frontcourt supported Reese. Canada contributed 10 points, nine assists, and three steals. Howard scored 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. The Dream finished with an 85.2% free throw percentage, and their bench scored 30 points.
Azurá Stevens led Chicago (9-17) with 20 points and nine rebounds, Taylor scored 18, including a halfcourt buzzer-beater at halftime and a game-tying three. Cardoso added 15, Williams scored a season-high 12 in 16 minutes, and Vandersloot finished with 11 points and six assists.
"A lot of these games have been close games that we've let slip away, but we're confident in who we are as a team," Stevens said. "We work hard every day. We break down the film, look at where we made mistakes and come back trying to be better the next day."
Sky coach Tyler Marsh mentioned that the margin of error decreases once a team comes back from a substantial deficit.
"We fought extremely hard to come back and eventually take the lead. The difficult part is that when you expend that much energy fighting out of a large hole, the margin for error becomes very small," Marsh said. "Atlanta puts you in a difficult position because it has five scorers on the floor who can hurt you and win the game. Credit them for executing late and finding a way. I also give our team credit for fighting back, but it's disappointing that we couldn't finish it."
Chicago's losing streak ended as Skylar Diggins (knee) sat out her sixth game. Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak with a win after five straight losses, and Te-Hina Paopao (leg) missed her second consecutive game.
Chicago will play against the New York Liberty on Wednesday, and Atlanta is scheduled to face the Dallas Wings the same day.
