Dream vs. Tempo: Angel Reese Grabs 17 Rebounds, a Career-High 11 Offensive, in 102-77 Atlanta Win

The Atlanta Dream spent the first quarter on Sunday shooting like somebody had moved the rim overnight. Angel Reese solved that problem in the most Angel Reese way imaginable: she went and got the misses herself.

Reese finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds, a career-high 11 of them on the offensive glass, and the Dream erased a 13-point hole to beat the Toronto Tempo 102-77 at Coca-Cola Coliseum. It was Atlanta's first win over the expansion Tempo, and it got ugly for the home side well before the final horn.

From 6-of-25 to Total Demolition

For 10 minutes, Toronto looked like the team with the plan. Atlanta went 6-of-25 from the floor and 1-of-12 from deep in the opening period, an 8-0 Tempo run stretched an 11-6 lead to 19-6, and it was 25-13 after one. The Dream looked like a group that had read the scouting report for a different game.

Then Isobel Borlase checked in and the whole thing tilted. The rookie scored nine in the second quarter, a 12-0 run tied the game at 30, and Atlanta went 11-of-17 from the field with all four of its 3s falling and nine assists. Allisha Gray had 11 in the period. The Dream won the quarter 34-14, which the AP pegged as their highest-scoring frame of the season, and took a 47-39 lead to the break.

The third brought an 8-0 run across halftime to make it 52-39, followed by the game's defining sour note. Isabelle Harrison, who had given Toronto 17 points in just 19 minutes, got tossed with 6:05 left in the period when a hard foul on Reese was ruled a Flagrant 2. Toronto hung in at 70-59 going to the fourth, but Atlanta scored 32 in the final quarter, and a closing 12-0 run from 2:36 to 34.2 seconds, capped by Te-Hina Paopao's 3, turned a double-digit lead into a 27-point statement.

Reese Went Shopping on the Offensive Glass

Reese shot 6-of-19, and on most nights that would be the end of the discussion. Here, her own misses were raw material. Her 11 offensive rebounds fell one short of tying the WNBA single-game record, which Sancho Lyttle, the Dream's franchise record holder, shares with Glory Johnson, Nneka Ogwumike and Cheryl Ford. Her nine double-doubles this season give her 59 overall, and through 76 career games nobody in WNBA history has had more. She has also pulled down exactly 17 boards in three of her last four.

"Angel's a beast on the boards," Gray said. "She does everything that we need to help us win and accomplish our goals for the game."

Coach Karl Smesko put it in terms any shooter would appreciate. "You feel good about taking the shot when you know if you miss it, your teammate's going to clean it up for you," he said. "That third quarter in particular, and early fourth, I mean, she was just relentless on the boards."

Those shooters took full advantage. Gray scored 26 on 8-of-14 with five 3s, seven assists and no turnovers, tying her season high per the team. Those five makes gave her 235 career 3s, third in franchise history and just ahead of Angel McCoughtry's 233. Rhyne Howard had 24 points, three blocks and four more 3s, giving her a franchise-record 408. Jordin Canada scored only five, but her nine assists and three steals produced a game-best plus-30.

The surprise was Borlase, a second-round pick who scored a career-high 17 on 5-of-6 shooting in 18 minutes, going 5-of-5 at the line for good measure.

"She's very valuable and really talented," Smesko said. "Today was really to a next level. Each game, she looks a little more comfortable. That talent is coming out now."

Her own explanation was refreshingly low-key. "Us girls coming off the bench, trying to provide that X factor for the team, and not expecting myself to do that every night, but just preparing in a way that I feel like I can help the team," Borlase said.

Toronto's Julie Allemand gave the Tempo 13 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks, and Maria Conde added 12 off the bench. Brittney Sykes scored 11 with four turnovers, and Marina Mabrey went 2-of-11. Nyara Sabally (hamstring) sat out for the second game in a row.

The Quarter That Flipped Everything

The turnaround was less about shots falling than about what happened at the other end. Toronto's first quarter was layups and clean looks. In the second, the Dream tightened up their ball-screen coverage, and the Tempo missed 12 of their 16 attempts.

"In the first quarter, we had some miscommunications, and it ended up being layups and open threes, and I like how they pulled together," Smesko said. "They started communicating all these situations, and now it was much more difficult for them to get open shots."

That swing took the air out of the building and handed Atlanta the game's rhythm. Once the Dream could run, they did it relentlessly, and a 20-point quarter margin became the template for the rest of the afternoon.

Stats That Matter

• 44-24: Atlanta's rebounding edge, including a 14-5 bulge on the offensive glass.
• 23-4: Dream fast-break points against Toronto's, which is what happens when a team starts getting stops.
• 34-14: The second-quarter score that erased the slow start.
• 32-18: The fourth-quarter score that buried any hope of a Tempo answer.
• 14-of-36: Atlanta from 3-point range, a number that looked impossible after that 1-of-12 opener.

What It Means

Atlanta moved to 9-4 overall and 5-2 on the road, bouncing back from Thursday's 104-90 home loss to New York. The team says it wrapped up Commissioner's Cup play at 4-2, and the win gave Smesko the fourth-most coaching victories the franchise has seen. The Dream play at Indiana on Thursday.

Toronto fell to 7-7 and 4-3 at home, a second straight loss after Friday's 86-85 heartbreaker in Washington. The Tempo visit Indiana on Tuesday, and they will hope to spend less time watching one opponent collect all the loose change around the rim.

Marie Kondo wants you to ask whether a thing sparks joy. Angel Reese looks at a missed shot and asks a simpler question: is anybody else going to pick that up? On Sunday in Toronto, the answer was no, 11 separate times, and one team's bricks became another player's building material.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Quotes and game notes from the Atlanta Dream. Additional details as reported by the Associated Press.