The Portland Fire stomped into Atlanta and completely shut down the Dream, winning 101-83 on Friday night. That score alone tells you the four-game winning streak for Atlanta is officially over, and that’s a tough pill for a playoff-bound squad to swallow.
Fire’s Offense Was Absolutely Cooking
Seriously, the Fire’s offense was cooking! Carla Leite dropped a cool 26 points, shooting an insane 9 of 13 from the field. But the real surprise was Emily Engstler, who had a career-high 25 points, nailing 11 of 14 shots. Those two were unstoppable. The whole squad was dialed in, finishing at a ridiculous 58% from the field on 38 of 65 shots. They were up 52-38 at halftime, and when Atlanta tried to claw back to 60-55, Holly Winterburn hit this ridiculous banked-in three to beat the shot clock. It felt like a dagger, pushing the lead back to eight and killing that momentum.
Dream’s Struggles Even With Record-Setting Reese
And get this, even with Angel Reese putting up monster numbers, it wasn’t enough. She had 16 points and 16 boards, matching a WNBA record with her 28th double-double of the year! Plus, she’s already set the league record for rebounds in a season. Rhyne Howard poured in 26 points herself, fresh off an unbeaten four-game West Coast trip. You’d think that kind of production would win you the game, right? But the Dream just couldn’t hit anything consistently, shooting only 37% from the field on 26 of 71 shots. That’s brutal. They’ve fallen to fifth place in the standings, now a half-game behind Indiana. To make things worse, they were without DeWanna Bonner, who was signed specifically to give them that veteran playoff boost. She didn’t even play!
So, what now? The Dream have one more game before the FIBA Women’s World Cup break, hosting Minnesota on Sunday. They NEED to get it together. For the Fire, they’ll host Golden State on Sunday, riding high after this huge win. Will they keep that momentum rolling? Atlanta fans gotta be scratching their heads after this one. What a wild night!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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