Dream vs. Mercury: Angel Reese Scores Career-High 31 as Atlanta Clinches Playoff Berth Despite Copper's 38

Kahleah Copper did everything a person can do to save a season on Saturday night. She scored 38 points. She took 12 free throws. She dragged the Phoenix Mercury from 15 down at halftime to within one late in the third quarter. And Angel Reese just kept walking to the rim like Copper's night had nothing to do with her.

Reese scored a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds, Rhyne Howard added 20, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Mercury 99-89 at Mortgage Matchup Center to clinch a playoff berth. The same result eliminated Phoenix, which reached the WNBA Finals last season, from the playoff chase, according to the Associated Press. One team got a ticket. The other got a very long look at the offseason.

Fast Start, Scary Third, Clean Finish

Atlanta needed about four minutes to set the terms. Howard hit four 3-pointers in a first quarter that saw the Dream go up 14-3 inside the opening four minutes and 29-18 by the end of the period. The second quarter brought an 8-0 run that turned 38-31 into 46-31, and at halftime it was 50-35. Phoenix shot 10 of 29 in the first half. This looked like the kind of game you could safely leave on in the background.

The third quarter ended that idea. The Mercury made 13 of 22 shots in the period, Copper scored 17 by herself, and Atlanta's offense lost the plot. Coach Karl Smesko later said, per the Dream, that his team cannot have another stretch like the first five minutes of that quarter in the playoffs: sets run incorrectly, players not getting back, too many layups allowed. Phoenix got it to one with 45 seconds left in the quarter before Madina Okot's free throws and a Howard bank shot pushed the lead back to 73-68.

Atlanta never actually gave up the lead, though. The Dream led for 99% of the game and there was not a single lead change. They opened the fourth on a 6-2 run, Jordin Canada's free throws made it 86-77 with 4:33 left, and every time Phoenix made a push, Reese was waiting at the other end.

Reese's Personal Best

Reese was unbelievable. She shot 14 of 21 from the field, grabbed 14 boards including four on the offensive end, and collected four steals. The AP notes that came right after she went 9 of 9 in her previous game, and that she's a 43% shooter for the season. Her old career high of 27 dated to her rookie year with Chicago in 2024.

The double-double was her 25th of the season, which the AP says is an Atlanta single-season record and leaves her three shy of the league record. She scored nine of Atlanta's final 13 points, including a layup at 4:03, two more buckets inside the last two and a half minutes and three free throws. The last of those made it 97-87 with 53 seconds left.

"She keeps getting better," Smesko said. "She was scoring in a multitude of ways."

It will also be Reese's first trip to the playoffs, the Dream noted, and she wasn't exactly settling for participation points.

"It feels good to finally get here," she said. "I want more than the playoffs. I want to walk away a champ and that's why I came to Atlanta."

Howard finished with 20 on 4-of-11 from deep, Allisha Gray had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Canada added 12 with five assists. Isobel Borlase came off the bench to hand out six assists in 13 minutes. As a team the Dream had 24 assists and just eight turnovers, while forcing 16 Phoenix giveaways with 12 steals.

Copper and Thomas Tried to Drag Phoenix Over the Line

Copper's 38 came on 13-of-21 shooting, 3 of 7 from deep and 9 of 12 at the line. It was a sensational scoring night that simply had no answer on the other end. Alyssa Thomas filled every column, posting 11 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. The AP says that was the 22nd regular-season triple-double of her career, and she has six more in the playoffs. DeWanna Bonner chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds. For a team playing to keep its season alive, that was three players doing their jobs and a whole lot of open air behind them.

Forty-Five Seconds That Saved the Night

Late third quarter. Phoenix had a one-point deficit and all the momentum with 45 seconds to go, and a tie or lead going into the fourth would have changed the whole temperature of the night. Okot's two free throws and Howard's bank shot instead sent the Dream to the final period up five, and that 6-2 start to the fourth rebuilt the cushion to 79-70.

The Paint Tells the Story

• 48-30: Atlanta's edge in points in the paint. Reese alone took 17 of her 21 shots inside the arc.
• 12: Dream steals, against just five for Phoenix.
• 11 of 38 vs. 11 of 23: Three-point shooting. Phoenix was far better, and Atlanta won by 10 anyway.
• 99%: The share of the game Atlanta spent in front.

Clinched, Eliminated and a Fourth-Seed Fight

Atlanta is 24-13, with a third consecutive win and five wins in its last six games. The AP says the Dream moved a half-game ahead of Indiana for the fourth seed, with seven games left, and the team points out that the top four seeds host first-round series. They clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season, per the Dream. Atlanta also finished a 3-0 sweep of the season series with Phoenix and closes a four-game West Coast trip at Los Angeles on Monday.

Phoenix falls to 13-24, 5-12 at home, and has lost two straight. The Mercury host Washington on Tuesday and Thursday.

Right Where She Wants to Be

Smesko struck the right tone for a night that was equal parts statement and scare.

"It was good to see us regroup, get the win, and qualify for the playoffs," he said.

Reese, meanwhile, already had her eyes on a much bigger goal. "You don't want to peak too early and we are right where we want to be right now," she said. Based on Saturday, that's a warning, not a platitude.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes from the Atlanta Dream's game recap; records and playoff details as reported by the Associated Press and the Dream.