The Atlanta Dream evened the playoff series against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night, beating them 78-75. The Mystics lost their best player, Elene Delle Donne, in the fourth quarter.
McCamish Pavilion was electric as the Dream scratched and clawed their way to hang on for the victory.
“Really, really proud of our toughness,” Dream coach Nicki Collen said after the game. Collen had double reason to celebrate: She was named WNBA Coach of the Year earlier in the day. “We turned over the ball too much, but to get stops when we needed them says a lot about our team. Early in the season, we had a lot of grind-it-out kind of games, and tonight was another one of those.”
The series is now tied at 1-1 and will head to Washington for game 3 on Friday night. In game 1, the Dream couldn’t find any momentum on offense, losing 87-84 at home on Sunday. Their ace shooter, Tiffany Hayes, was cold for most of the night.
Delle Donne told fans that she will be OK, saying “the swelling isn’t terrible.”
On Tuesday, Hayes scored 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Center Elizabeth Williams (10 points, 11 rebounds) had a solid game as well as Atlanta had an 18-rebound advantage.
Game 3 will be Friday, August 31 at 8 p.m. ET at Charles Smith Center, George Washington University. The contest will be simulcast on WNBATV and ESPN2.
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