Dream Clinches Playoff Spot with Win in Phoenix

Angel Reese has waited her whole career for this moment. On Saturday night in the desert, she got it — and delivered a career night to match.

Behind a career-high 31 points from Reese, the Atlanta Dream defeated the Phoenix Mercury 99-89 at Mortgage Matchup Center, punching Atlanta’s ticket to the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. It’s the first playoff berth of Reese’s career.

“It feels good to finally get here,” Reese said. “I want more than the playoffs. I want to walk away a champ and that’s why I came to Atlanta.”

A Fast Start Sets the Tone

Atlanta wasted no time putting its stamp on the game, jumping out to a 29-18 first-quarter lead behind red-hot shooting from beyond the arc — 6-of-14 from three — and eight assists. Rhyne Howard was locked in early, going 4-of-7 from the field with every make coming from deep. The defense held up its end too, holding Phoenix to just 26.7% shooting in the opening frame.

The three-point shooting cooled in the second quarter, but Atlanta didn’t blink. Instead, the Dream leaned on its interior game, scoring 18 points in the paint to push the lead to 50-35 by halftime.

Phoenix Fights Back, Dream Holds the Line

The Mercury made things interesting in the third quarter, catching fire from three (5-of-7) and shooting 59.1% overall to cut Atlanta’s lead to just one point with 45 seconds left in the period. But Atlanta had answers when it mattered. Madina Okot calmly knocked down two free throws to push the lead back to three, and Howard capped the quarter with a bank shot to make it 73-68 heading into the fourth.

Head Coach Karl Smesko didn’t sugarcoat the rough patch afterward, making clear it’s a stretch his team can’t afford to repeat once the games carry playoff stakes.

“[Atlanta] can’t have another 5-minute stretch in the playoffs like it had to start the third quarter against Phoenix,” Smesko said, noting sets weren’t run correctly, players didn’t get back on defense, and too many layups were surrendered. “It’s hard to play great for 40 minutes but that’s the goal.”

Atlanta answered the challenge to open the fourth, ripping off a 6-2 run to push the lead to 79-70 and cruising from there to close out the win.

Reese’s Historic Night

Reese’s 31-point outburst shattered her previous career high of 27, set against Seattle back in 2024, and she did it in a variety of ways.

“She keeps getting better,” Smesko said. “She was scoring in a multitude of ways.”

She also grabbed 14 rebounds for her 25th double-double of the season — her third in as many games. That milestone puts her just four double-doubles shy of breaking the single-season WNBA record set by Alyssa Thomas in 2023, with seven games left on Atlanta’s schedule to get there.

“You don’t want to peak too early and we are right where we want to be right now,” Reese said.

Howard finished with 20 points, Allisha Gray added 17 and Jordin Canada chipped in 12. Canada credited the team’s defensive intensity for fueling the win — and the recent stretch of success.

“Today the way we started, and the last two games, the way we came out, we came out with a lot of aggression on the defensive end, which got our offense going, and we were able to maintain that throughout the last two games,” Canada said.

Playoff Positioning

The win — Atlanta’s third straight — pushed the Dream to 24-13 and gave them sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a spot that comes with homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta sits 1.5 games behind second-place Golden State, a half-game behind third-place Las Vegas, and three games clear of eighth-place Dallas. The league’s top four seeds will host their first-round series.

“It was good to see us regroup, get the win, and qualify for the playoffs,” Smesko said.

Up Next

Atlanta’s four-game road trip continues Monday in Los Angeles, the final stop before the Dream returns home with playoff positioning — and a potential first-round series to host — squarely in view.