The Atlanta Dream fought, clawed, and attempted multiple comeback pushes Thursday night, but the Minnesota Lynx consistently had an answer.
Behind an elite offensive performance and relentless ball screen execution, the Lynx defeated the Dream 96-81, handing Atlanta one of its toughest losses of the young season.
Minnesota set the tone immediately, jumping out early while shooting efficiently and repeatedly attacking the paint. The Lynx finished the night shooting 59.7% from the field and scored 52 points in the paint, creating problems for Atlanta’s defense from the opening quarter until the starters were eventually pulled late in the fourth.
“Give Minnesota credit,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said postgame. “They took it to us early, and they were outstanding offensively.”
Atlanta found itself playing from behind most of the night after another slow start, something Allisha Gray acknowledged afterward has become a growing issue for the team.
“We don’t ever want to get down early,” Hillmon said. “It does take a lot out of you because you’re having to claw back, and you feel like you have to make sure every possession is perfect.”
Still, the Dream repeatedly showed resilience.
After falling behind early, Atlanta trimmed the deficit several times, including cutting the lead to 10 midway through the fourth quarter. But every time momentum appeared to shift, Minnesota responded with another offensive run.
“Every time we would try to make a comeback, all of a sudden we would have another defensive breakdown based on great execution on their part,” Smesko said.
Much of that execution came through Minnesota’s ball screen offense. Courtney Williams controlled the tempo throughout the game, finishing with 25 points and seven assists, while Olivia Miles added 16 points and eight assists. Natasha Howard repeatedly found space slipping behind Atlanta’s defense, helping Minnesota maintain control whenever the Dream threatened to rally.
Smesko pointed directly to Minnesota’s ball screen action as one of the biggest deciding factors in the game.
“Natasha Howard’s so good at setting ball screens and then exiting behind,” Smesko said. “We were getting lost on the ball screens a little bit and creating pockets and little seams for them to get behind us.”
Atlanta’s players echoed those same concerns after the game.
“I think we definitely had some breakdowns in what we wanted to do in the ball screen defense,” Naz Hillmon said. “But also giving credit to Minnesota, they did a really good job of getting downhill and finding open people.”
Gray also pointed to the Dream becoming stagnant offensively against Minnesota’s defensive pressure.
“We know they’re heavy nail help, and I feel like tonight we were standing and watching one player,” Gray said. “It was just a lot of standing tonight.”
Even in the loss, Atlanta had bright spots offensively.
Gray led the Dream with 21 points despite a slow start, eventually finding her rhythm later in the game. Hillmon provided strong energy on both ends, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds while taking advantage of mismatches offensively. Angel Reese added 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while continuing to impact the game across multiple areas despite Minnesota’s physical interior defense.
Smesko specifically praised Hillmon’s activity and energy after the game.
“She had good energy,” Smesko said. “She got a couple post-ups when they switched into mismatches. She got behind the defense on rolls a couple times. It was good to see her getting into the swing of things.”
The Lynx also forced Atlanta into 18 turnovers and generated 10 steals, repeatedly capitalizing on tight passing windows and over-dribbling situations.
“We’re turning the ball over too much,” Smesko said. “Sometimes we turn down the first open look and then try to do something more difficult.”
Despite the disappointing result, neither the coaching staff nor players sounded discouraged afterward. Instead, the message inside the locker room centered around learning, correcting mistakes, and quickly preparing for the next challenge.
“Minnesota’s a really good team, and they were just a lot better than we were today,” Smesko said. “The only thing to do is get better.”
Gray closed with a similar mindset as the Dream now turn their attention toward Portland.
“We go back tomorrow, look at the film, look at our mistakes, and then we fix them and get ready for Portland.”
Tough loss but a few positives from the night. Naz Hillmon had a good night on offense scoring 15 points and 8 rebounds. She was a spark for the Dream when they needed one, though it wasn’t enough tonight it matters as she continues to keep her confidence building. Aaliyah Nye saw her first action, granted it was only 2:06, but at least she has found some time on the floor with her teammates. Izzy Borlase continues to get minutes and she is seeing her playing time increase more as the season goes on. Paopao is still perfect from three through three games. She has gone 5 for 5 for the last three games, even though in her last two games she has only shot the ball 1 time. She has not missed from three for the last three outings. Gray couldn’t get open a lot tonight but she shot 62.5% from three point range. Finally, Sika Kone provided great minutes off the bench tonight, she was pivotal in helping the Dream erasing the Lynx’s first big lead, and tying the game in the first half. She had the best +/- of any other Dream player at 8.
The Dream will look to bounce back this Friday vs. the expansion Portland Fire.
