Atlanta, GA -- When watching an Atlanta Dream game in the second half, you begin to think to yourself “what if the Dream played with these breath taking efforts coming out of the gates?” It would be a completely different ball game, and possibly a better overall record.
At the end of the day, Atlanta turned up the heat just in time to secure a must-win game, 79-74 over Indiana, to keep its season going, despite having a less than .500 record at 12-20.
In each post-game conversation, Atlanta’s head Coach Michael Cooper and his team always emphasize how they need to get off to a good start early in the game. We have seen on numerous occasions how they are plagued by slow starts when they do not come out strong, yet Saturday night the same beginning was erased in a huge comeback effort over the Fever.
Even though Indiana can no longer make the post season, Atlanta is still fighting to sneak in and although their start was once again sluggish, the third quarter was completely different. It was as if the Dream had become a new team – one that was awake and ready to get to work.
After being outscored in the first two periods, Atlanta made sure to return the favor in the third stanza, outscoring the Fever, 20-13.
The charge was led by Tiffany Hayes for the majority of the game (scored a team-high 24), however, rookie guard Brittney Sykes jolted Atlanta forward at the most critical points during the high-intensity game.
Bria Holmes had snatched down a huge offensive rebound with 21.7 seconds left with the Dream down three. She immediately kicked the ball out to Sykes on the perimeter who raised up and drilled the game tying – currently postseason saving – triple to tie the game up.
Indiana had a shot at winning the game in regulation as Erica Wheeler handled the ball hoping to get the final basket for Indiana, but, she was being hounded by a pesky defender: Brittney Sykes. Sykes came up huge on the defensive end with 19 seconds left keeping Wheeler’s dribble right in front of her and then driving her into her teammate to force a turnover and ultimately another five minutes of play.