Nothing, then everything
Paige Bueckers missed all seven shots she took in the first half. She finished with 22 points. The Dallas Wings leaned on that second-half explosion to beat the Toronto Tempo 94-88 and push the expansion side to a 10th straight loss.
The switch flipped in the third quarter. Bueckers went 4-of-4 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line for 13 points in the period, dragging Dallas out of a nervy night. When Toronto made its late run, she answered with a steal and a layup that took the air out of the comeback.
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Dallas covers for the missing pieces
The Wings did this without two key names. Jessica Shepard sat with an ankle problem and top pick Azzi Fudd stayed out with a knee issue, leaving Dallas short-handed against a team desperate for a first breakthrough.
Awak Kuier picked up the slack with 14 points. Alanna Smith added 13 points and 11 rebounds, controlling the glass on a night the Wings needed every possession. The win moves Dallas to 20-14 and ends a three-game slide that had them slipping in a crowded playoff race.
Toronto still waiting
Marina Mabrey kept the Tempo alive, her 3-pointer cutting the gap to 80-77 with 4:28 left. Toronto had chances. It never found the stop that would have changed the ending.
Ten losses in a row is a brutal stretch for a first-year franchise, and the Tempo are living the hard part of expansion life right now. They pushed a decent team to the wire. On this night, that was not enough.
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