Angel Reese returned after a 1-game absence and immediately dominated. The Dream was already leading in the first half when Rhyne Howard missed her three-pointer, but Reese wasn’t about to let it go as she got the putback heading into the second half. She ended her night with her 16th double-double of the season.
“It felt good. I just wanted to do whatever it takes to get a win. I’m happy I felt good, and the environment was crazy,” she said in her post-game interview.
“I felt like I was back home in Baltimore. My family was here, and the culture was amazing. I told y’all earlier in the pregame, ‘You’ve got to get here.’ This environment is so intimate. I just like it here.“
That play at the end of the first was representative of that mindset. She wanted the “momentum for the second half surge,” as she later revealed. And it is visible in every rebound and paint battle Reese picks.
Angel Reese led the Dream with 23 points and 13 rebounds for the 65th time of her career. It was a thumping return for the Atlanta Dream star who missed the last game with a lower-leg injury.
Reese also hit a clutch corner three in the fourth quarter that pushed the Dream beyond the Sparks. “Angel made some big buckets for us down the stretch. That was a big three for us. I feel like the energy from Angel really got us pumped up, and we were able to finish the game,” teammate Allisha Gray said.
Reese wants the wins come what may, and the Dream hasn’t been getting a lot of them lately. They are 2-5 in the last seven games, including 5 losses on the trot. Some cracks have shown, like shooting troubles and offensive breakdowns, but Reese is determined to turn it around.
“We’ve had a tough stretch,” Reese further admitted. “We haven’t played our best, but being able to come out tonight and continue to get better every day is what we’re going to continue to do.”
There were some red flags even in this win. Their defense allowed 52% FG and 38% from the three-point line. The Dream only managed to shoot 49% from the field and 32% from downtown. But Reese managed to get them 3 of their 6 offensive rebounds, and the extra possessions were crucial in getting the win.
There are things to work on for the Dream. But with Reese back in full flow, they have a reliable paint player to rest on until their shooting truly recovers.