The Atlanta Dream, coming off a record-breaking season, fell short to the Indiana Fever 2-1 in the best-of-three series, losing game three 87-85. Brionna Jones had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer, but missed the three-point shot. The Dream had five players scoring double-digit points in the game. The lead scorer was Alisha Gray with 19, Jordin Canada with 18, Rhyne Howard with 16, and Brionna Jones with 12 points. The Dream maintained a five-point lead throughout the second half of the game, went scoreless for substantial periods during the fourth quarter, which allowed the Fever to tie the game 80-80 late in the fourth quarter before gaining the lead and ultimately eliminating the Dream from the WNBA Playoffs.
Indiana Fever Shey Peddy went 1 of 6 and made the most critical three-pointer with 6 minutes left in the game, cutting the Atlanta Dream’s lead to 2 points. The Fever were able to tie the game 80-80 but saw the lead increase to five points behind a Rhyne Howard three-pointer and a Brionna Jones basket, scoring the team’s last five points of the game. The Dream had a chance to win the game after Rhyne Howard’s bad inbound pass, sending Fever Odyssey Sims, who made 1 out of 2 free throws, giving the Fever a two-point lead. The Fever had five players in double digits. Odyssey Sims had 16 points, Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 24, Aliyah Boston had 14, Lexie Hull had 10, and Natasha Howard had 12 points.
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The Dream’s three turnovers late in the game and missed free throws cost them an opportunity to move on to the next round of the playoffs after having a remarkable season. The Dream shot 45.5% from the free-throw line and had 14 turnovers; the Fever turned them into 15 points. The Fever’s ability to get to the free-throw line 24 times in the game was pivotal as well. The Indiana Fever will move on to play against the Las Vegas Aces in the next round of the playoffs.