The Atlanta Dream knew better than to panic at a double-digit deficit against the Washington Mystics.
Perhaps it was no surprise that the more experienced team on the floor would rise to the top Sunday and win Game 1 of their first-round WNBA playoff series.
After the fourth-seeded Dream’s 92-77 comeback win over the fifth-seeded Mystics gave them the upper hand in the best-of-three series, a young Washington squad must win Game 2 on Wednesday at home to extend the season.
DeWanna Bonner, who signed with Atlanta late in the season after agreeing to a buyout with the Phoenix Mercury so she could join a contender, scored 11 of her 13 points Sunday in the third quarter. She was 4-for-4 from the field in the frame, and her seven-point spurt in a 1:14 span powered the Dream to their 29-12 third-quarter advantage that changed the game.
The Mystics led by 11 early in the second quarter. Bonner, the third-leading scorer in WNBA history and playing for her fourth franchise, helped her team relax.
“One thing you can’t do in the playoffs is be uptight,” Bonner said. “You’ve still got to play fun basketball. You’ve still got to laugh and enjoy this moment. I think the second half settled us down, and we had fun.”
The Dream went 30-14 for the second consecutive season, and even without Bonner, their roster has more postseason experience than the upstart Mystics. Rhyne Howard had 26 points and five steals and Allisha Gray added 22 points to aid Atlanta. Angel Reese, making her WNBA playoff debut after two seasons with Chicago, added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
But the biggest category that went in the Dream’s favor was the turnover battle. They won it by a whopping 23-7 margin while turning Washington’s miscues into 27 points.
Mystics coach Sydney Johnson chose to focus on the positives from the playoff debuts of second-year stars Sonia Citron (25 points) and Kiki Iriafen (15).
“I’m sitting beside two players (who played) their first playoff games, and there was a lot of good stuff out there,” Johnson said. “So it’s just exciting. We’re disappointed about the loss, but I’m excited to take this first step forward with Kiki and Sonia and our whole group.”
The Mystics-Dream series pits the top two teams in rebounds per game during the regular season, so Washington can at least feel good about dominating that column Sunday. The Mystics outrebounded the Dream 50-31, with Shakira Austin (16) and Iriafen (14) nearly matching Atlanta’s total on their own.
–Field Level Media
