The Atlanta Dream edged past the Chicago Sky 93-91 at the Gateway Center Arena on Sunday. The Dream held on to close the match after almost squandering a 22-point lead. However, there was another concerning highlight during the match as Angel Reese had to suddenly exit the game after awkwardly falling while attempting a layup.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
At around 9:47 left in the fourth quarter, Reese drove inside the paint from the right and, while attempting a layup, hyper-extended her knee as per the clip shared by espnW. While Reese did get up after this sequence and went down the court, she then exited to the locker room.
There is no official communication from Atlanta management regarding the nature or severity of the injury as of now, as they wait for further evaluation.
This setback comes at a crucial time for Atlanta. With the All-Star weekend coming up, the Dream will have three of its players, including Reese, feature as All-Star reserves. Atlanta fans are hoping this isn’t too serious, even as they express their concerns.
“Hyper-extended and rolled ankle. Ouch,” one fan said.
“Hope that’s not an ACL,” another fan said.
One fan took a reassuring stance, indicating his optimism.
“Terrible injury day for players who wear the #5,” one fan said, drawing a parallel to an injury suffered by Paige Bueckers on the same day, who, incidentally, also wears the number 5 jersey.
“No contact. Looks like just an awkward landing? Seesh,” another fan said.
“Look at her knee! Yikes! That looks painful 😳,” one fan said.
“Ouch, her knee buckled; I have had that happen. It hurts like hell, and when you are moving fast, even more,” another fan expressed.
Reese has been in fine form this season, averaging 15.7 points and 2.5 assists per game. She leads the league in rebounds per game at 11.8. Although the victory was Atlanta’s seventh straight over Chicago, this injury does dampen the mood for the Dream.
“It’s hard because we’re in the timeout. It seemed like a really long timeout, and there wasn’t a lot being said because we were all just looking at Angel. And when I was looking at her, it seemed like she was in a lot of pain,” coach Karl Smesko said after the game.
They are now 16-10 for the season and move up to 5th in the league table. With this win, Atlanta has now won three straight games and four of its last five following a five-game skid. Atlanta will hope that she is available for their crucial stretch of games after the All-Star weekend.