Dream’s Angel Reese cleans things up to outdo Paige Bueckers originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Angel Reese’s Atlanta Dream debut had been filled with inefficiency and turnovers, along with some impactful defensive stats, in a one-point win.
To help the Dream get to 2-0 on Tuesday night, Reese cleaned up her stat sheet, and it worked wonders.
The final score was Atlanta 77, Dallas 72 as Reese’s talented bunch outplayed Paige Bueckers and company.
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Reese, for her part, kept things simple.
She took just eight shots from the floor, making four, while also going 4-for-4 from the foul line.
That meant she finished with 12 points. She grabbed 16 rebounds, including eight offensive.
Reese added two assists (three turnovers), one steal and one block.
It wasn’t a perfect night, but she was a plus-1 in her 34 minutes on the floor.
Allisha Gray led the way with 26 points, with Jordin Canada adding 19 and Rhyne Howard 14.
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For the Wings, Bueckers had 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Arike Ogunbowale led with 20.
Dallas was coming off an impressive and high-scoring opening win over the Indiana Fever, but on this night, the Dream kept the Wings’ offense much more in check.
The unsung hero may have been Naz Hillmon. The frontcourt player for Atlanta was on the floor for 36 minutes and finished with just 1 point and 3 rebounds, yet she was a team-best plus-12 — she made life difficult on Dallas even while not racking up stats.
The Dream will take it. A 2-0 start is a great place to be.