Naz Hillmon could not miss, and the Atlanta Dream made sure the Toronto Tempo paid for nearly every mistake.
Hillmon scored a career-high 24 points on a perfect shooting night, Angel Reese recorded a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double and Atlanta pulled away for a 111-92 victory over Toronto on July 17.
Hillmon finished 8-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. She produced those 24 points in only 25 minutes and became the centerpiece of an Atlanta offense that shot 55 percent overall.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t really realize until after the game,” Hillmon said. “In the moment, I’m just worried about a win.”
Even after completing a flawless individual performance, Hillmon focused much of the credit on Atlanta’s ball movement and the quality of the opportunities created by her teammates.
“I try to do whatever the team needs,” Hillmon said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me, giving me really easy open shots, so I have to credit them for making my life easy tonight.”
Hillmon’s outside shooting was especially significant. Her four 3-pointers accounted for nearly half of Atlanta’s nine makes from beyond the arc, and she said the performance reflected work that had been building over time.
“It is nice to not miss, obviously,” Hillmon said. “You never want to see the ball come out of the rim for you, but it’s been a long time coming, especially with my threes. It was nice to see them going in today.”
The Dream received high-level production throughout the lineup.
Reese made 7 of 11 shots and 9 of 11 free throws to finish with 23 points. She also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, and added three steals.
Allisha Gray scored 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while Jordin Canada finished with 18 points and 13 assists. Canada also recorded three steals and posted a game-best plus-27.
Rhyne Howard added 10 points, five assists and four rebounds. Isobel Borlase scored 10 points off the bench, and Brionna Jones contributed six points, six rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes.
Atlanta finished with 28 assists on 39 made field goals, evidence of the unselfish offense Hillmon and Reese highlighted after the game.
“We have great guards who help find the open person or the hot hand,” Hillmon said. “We have great bigs as well who are inside, and whether they’re finding their moves or kicking out, when we’re doing what we’re supposed to, moving the ball and getting up and down the floor, we’re one of the best teams.”
Canada was at the center of that movement. Her 13 assists were nearly as many as Toronto’s entire starting backcourt combined, and she consistently delivered the ball to Atlanta’s frontcourt in favorable positions.
Reese credited Canada and the Dream’s guards for making the interior attack effective.
“They make it easy for us,” Reese said. “We find our spots, they throw it to us and pass it to us, and we get the basket.”
Atlanta also punished Toronto inside. Reese referred to the Dream’s frontcourt as the “Thunder Twins” and emphasized the importance of the team’s bigs providing dependable targets when Toronto applied pressure to the guards.
“We talk about it all the time,” Reese said. “Karl emphasizes it a lot and how important we are for our guards because we knew they were going to hedge a lot.”
Toronto attempted to change the game with zone defense, particularly early, and Hillmon acknowledged that the coverage initially disrupted Atlanta’s rhythm.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Hillmon said. “Obviously, teams want to slow us down. It worked in the beginning, but I think we found our spots, figured out where our open cuts were going to be, and then our teammates found us.”
Once Atlanta adjusted, the Tempo struggled to contain the Dream’s combination of cutting, interior scoring and drive-and-kick passing.
The Dream made 39 of 71 shots and went 24-for-28 at the free-throw line. Although Atlanta shot only 32 percent from 3-point range as a team, Hillmon’s perfect perimeter performance helped prevent Toronto from packing the paint.
Toronto shot efficiently in its own right, finishing at 54 percent from the field and 48 percent from beyond the arc. The Tempo made 10 of 21 3-pointers and converted 22 of 25 free throws.
But the difference came in possessions.
Atlanta forced 20 Toronto turnovers while committing only 10. The Dream recorded 11 steals to Toronto’s three and turned their defensive pressure into opportunities to attack before the Tempo could set its defense.
“When we’re able to get stops, we’re able to push in transition, and that’s when we’re at our best,” Hillmon said. “That’s a point of emphasis for us, to get our hands in, try to force turnovers, and then get out and run.”
Reese said defense has become one of the parts of her game she takes the most pride in. Her three steals matched Canada for the team lead.
“I told Karl in the beginning of the season I want to be better defensively,” Reese said. “I just like defense. I think it’s important. I think you set the tone when you play defense, and you continue to have energy, and it feeds off the team.”
That defensive energy helped Atlanta seize control after the break.
Reese said the Dream have emphasized beginning second halves with greater urgency, putting pressure on opponents immediately and forcing them to use an early timeout.
“We talked about our second-half surge,” Reese said. “Being able to come out in the second half and kind of force them to call the first timeout.”
Atlanta’s ability to maintain control was a point of emphasis after the Tempo stayed competitive early. Reese said the Dream are still working on closing the door sooner when they gain the momentum, but performances like this showed how dangerous they can be when everything clicks.
“We’re learning,” Reese said. “We’re getting better every game, and when we put it all together like tonight, it’s hard for teams to keep up with us.”
Photo by KK Hansbrough
