Atlanta break a four-year wall
Rhyne Howard scored 23 points and the Dream beat the Aces 97-82 in Las Vegas overnight. Atlanta had lost six straight visits to Michelob Ultra Arena. Their last win there came on 19 July 2022.
Angel Reese posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for her 24th double-double of the season, a league-leading figure. Allisha Gray added 21. The Dream move to 22-13 and keep pace near the top of a compressed standings picture.
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Hammon watches the second half from elsewhere
Becky Hammon picked up a double technical for arguing a non-call and was gone before the interval. Assistant Charlene Thomas-Swinson ran the Aces for the entire second half. Las Vegas never recovered the game after that, and the margin stretched instead of closing.
A’ja Wilson still produced 27 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Jackie Young hit four threes on her way to 24. Chelsea Gray chipped in 13. Three players in double figures and a 15-point defeat tells the story of what happened around them.
What it changes for both teams
Las Vegas had already secured their playoff place, so the damage here is about seeding rather than survival. Losing home-court leverage in a tight Western race carries a cost in September, and this was the second frustrating night in a row for a roster that has been leaning heavily on Wilson.
Atlanta needed the win for different reasons. They had dropped a game they led in Indiana at the weekend, going down in overtime, and a road defeat here would have cut into their cushion. Howard and Gray combining for 44 points takes some of the scoring load off Reese, whose rebounding numbers have carried the team through the summer.
The two sides meet once more before the regular season closes. On this evidence, the Aces will want that game somewhere other than their own floor.
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