Dream vs. Aces: Rhyne Howard Scores 23 as Atlanta Snaps Six-Game Losing Streak in Las Vegas

Becky Hammon was gone before halftime, and by the end of Tuesday night the Las Vegas Aces probably wished they could have followed her out the door. With 5:06 to go in the second quarter, a no-call on an A'ja Wilson drive earned Hammon a double technical and an early shower, and her exit lit a fuse under the wrong team.

The Atlanta Dream beat the Aces 97-82 in front of 10,219 at Michelob ULTRA Arena behind 23 points from Rhyne Howard, 21 points and 10 rebounds from Angel Reese and 21 more from Allisha Gray. For Atlanta, this was more than one road win. It snapped a six-game losing streak in Las Vegas, and according to the AP it was the Dream's first victory in the city since July 19, 2022.

A Coach Exits, and the Game Tilts

The first quarter gave no hint of what was coming. Las Vegas led 25-24 after a back-and-forth opening, and the teams were still close when Hammon got tossed. Howard cashed in both free throws off the technicals, and suddenly Atlanta was up 35-29. A few possessions later, Atlanta ripped off eight straight points to go up 43-31, and assistant Charlene Thomas-Swinson, who had taken over for Hammon, suddenly had a real fire to put out.

The Dream won the second quarter 28-16, and Reese put the bow on the half with a bucket with 6.4 seconds left for a 52-41 lead. The ejection was the first of the season for Hammon and the second of her career, per the AP.

The Aces have far too much talent to fold, and they didn't. Las Vegas won the third 20-19 and hung around throughout the fourth, trailing 71-61 at the start of it and 85-76 with less than five minutes to go. Jackie Young's 12-foot pull-up made it 86-78. Wilson's step-back and two free throws cut it to 88-82 with 1:46 left, and for a moment the building was back in it.

Then Atlanta slammed the door. Gray hit a 10-foot pull-up. Jordin Canada scored on a running layup. Howard finished a three-point play with 49.3 seconds left and then made two more free throws at the 20.8-second mark. That 9-0 closing run turned a nervous finish into a 15-point win, which was also the Dream's largest lead of the night.

Four Starters, One Message

Howard's shooting night wasn't pretty at 7 of 19, including 2 of 8 from deep, but she made all seven of her free throws and piled up four steals and two blocks in 39 minutes. When the game tightened late, she was the one who took it over.

Reese was a force again. She scored 21 on 6-of-13 shooting and 8 of 9 at the line, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out four assists and collected four steals while playing through five fouls. The AP had it as her league-leading 24th double-double of the season.

Gray matched her with 21 points and went a perfect 7 of 7 at the line, and Canada might have been the sneakiest difference-maker on the floor. She had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and zero turnovers, and her plus-19 was the best mark of anyone who played. Four Dream starters scored at least 17.

Madina Okot gave Atlanta six points in eight minutes, and Isobel Borlase added two off the bench. Both benches finished with exactly eight points, which turned this into a straight-up battle of starting fives. Atlanta's won it 89-74.

Wilson did everything she could for Las Vegas, with 27 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks while going 12 of 12 at the line, though five turnovers hurt. Young scored 24 with four 3s, and Chelsea Gray added 13. NaLyssa Smith scored 10 with three blocks before picking up her sixth foul, and Las Vegas swatted 12 shots as a team, seven of them from Wilson and Smith. The support stopped there, since the Aces' reserves managed just eight points between them.

The Turning Point

The stretch right after Hammon's ejection. A game that Las Vegas led by a point after one quarter turned into an 11-point Atlanta lead by the break, and that cushion did most of the work the rest of the way. The Aces chipped and scrapped, but they couldn't get closer than six over the final five minutes. A coach's exit can fire up a home crowd and a bench. The Dream took that moment and made it their launching pad instead.

Stats That Matter

• 15-4: Atlanta's edge in steals, with Howard and Reese grabbing four apiece.
• 44-22: The Dream's advantage in paint points, despite the Aces blocking 12 shots.
• 18 vs. 5: Atlanta's points off turnovers against Las Vegas' total.
• 25 of 27: The Dream at the free throw line.
• 8: Points from the Las Vegas bench.

What It Means

Atlanta moves to 22-13 and 10-7 on the road, and it got a measure of revenge after Las Vegas beat the Dream 109-87 in Atlanta just over two weeks earlier. The Aces still lead the season series 2-1 with no meetings left. Atlanta's trip continues on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Las Vegas falls to 24-13 and 11-7 at home. By our recount it's a second straight loss for the Aces, following Saturday's defeat to Minnesota on this same floor. They stay home to face Connecticut on Thursday.

Closing Take

For four years, Las Vegas kept taking Atlanta's money. On Tuesday, the Dream finally walked out of the casino with some of it back, and they did it the old-fashioned way: by getting to the line, jumping passing lanes and refusing to blink when the Aces got within six. Hammon's ejection will get the headlines, and fair enough, because a coach getting tossed always makes for good television. But the real story is that a team built around Howard, Reese, Gray and Canada went into a building where it had lost six straight and looked completely at home.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press.