The Atlanta Dream’s home opener lived up to the hype, even if it didn’t look that way after three quarters of play.
The visiting and defending champion Las Vegas Aces carried a 17-point advantage into the fourth quarter, seemingly having established their superiority over a Dream side missing Rhyne Howard and Brionna Jones. A 16-0 Dream run, capped off by a Te-Hina Paopao triple off an assist from Angel Reese, however, put the Dream down by one point with just over two minutes remaining, leading to a thrilling
finish.
Unfortunately for the Atlanta faithful who filled a sold-out State Farm Arena, the Aces still had Chelsea Gray.
The Point Gawd burnished her clutch bona fides not only by sinking what proved to be to game winner with 3.6 seconds left, but also tipped the ball away from Allisha Gray on Atlanta’s final possession, denying the Dream an opportunity to complete their epic comeback. Vegas escaped Atlanta with the 85-84 victory.
Swish Appeal contributing photographer Christina Merrion was in the building for all the excitement. Here’s an exclusive look at some of the best scenes she captured.
