Mystics vs. Dream: Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen Overcome 27 Turnovers as Washington Beats Atlanta 81-76

Twenty-seven turnovers is usually how you lose by 30. Eighteen of them before halftime should have finished the job. The Washington Mystics looked at all of that on Thursday night at CareFirst Arena, shrugged, and shot 56 percent from 3 instead.

Shakira Austin's 21 points and nine rebounds led the way, Kiki Iriafen added 14 and 10, and Washington climbed out of a 10-point hole to beat the Atlanta Dream 81-76. Playing without Sonia Citron, who sat with right knee soreness, the Mystics moved to 10-9 and handed Atlanta its fourth straight loss.

Nine Points in a Quarter, and Somehow Still Alive

The first half was a horror movie for Washington, and not the fun kind. An 8-0 Atlanta run early in the first turned a 4-0 Mystics lead into 8-4, and although Washington led 23-22 after one, the second quarter was a catastrophe. The Dream ripped off eight straight to turn 25-24 into 32-25, the Mystics managed nine points in the entire period, and Atlanta went to the break up 41-32. At that point Washington had 18 turnovers and had taken 22 fewer shots than the Dream.

The third quarter is where the math changed. Washington hit five 3s in the period and won it 24-19, cutting Atlanta's lead to 60-56 going to the fourth. The less obvious fix was simply holding onto the ball, with only nine of those 27 turnovers coming after halftime. The Dream got it back to 65-59 early in the final quarter, and then the Mystics rattled off eight straight in 1:44 to take a 67-65 lead with 6:28 to go.

From there it got chippy, with five technical fouls on the night to prove it, three on Atlanta and two on Washington. Iriafen's free throws and Austin's driving layup made it 71-68. Naz Hillmon tied it with a 28-footer. Alicia Florez answered with a 25-foot step-back 3 at 3:30 that made it 74-71, Allisha Gray got one back at the line, and Jordin Canada's 5-footer tied it at 74 with 2:08 left.

Twenty-Nine Seconds

This is where Iriafen won it. She finished a layup off a Florez feed at 1:49, then got another one at 1:20, and a tie game was 78-74. Those two buckets came on consecutive trips, and they were exactly the kind of simple, unglamorous points a team that had thrown it all over the gym desperately needed.

Angel Reese scored off a Canada assist at 1:12 to make it 78-76, but Atlanta would not score again. Georgia Amoore made two free throws with 11.4 left for 80-76 and added one more at 2.5 to close it. For a team that spent the first half fumbling the game away, the last minute was almost eerily calm.

Austin, Iriafen and a Bench Spark

Austin was the best player on the floor: 9-of-14 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks. The only ugly part of her night came at the foul line, where she went 1-of-5. The team notes it was her second straight game with at least three blocks, and with Citron out, her ability to score at all three levels gave the Mystics an offense they could lean on when everything else was on fire.

Iriafen's 14 and 10 gave her an eighth double-double this season and her fourth in a row, a streak the team calls the longest active one in the WNBA. She also had five turnovers, which was on brand for the evening. Florez was the spark off the bench, setting career highs with 13 points and six rebounds, handing out seven assists and finishing plus-16. Amoore scored 11 in only 13 minutes, going 4-of-4 at the line.

Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 24 points, five 3s and five steals, though she needed 20 shots. Gray added 17 on 7-of-16 shooting but went 0-for-5 from 3 and 3-of-8 at the line. Reese had 13 points and 13 rebounds, six of them offensive, while Canada scored 10 with seven assists, and both of them finished with five fouls. Atlanta did what it needed to do to create shots, between 16 offensive rebounds and 13 steals. It just could not make enough of them, and 7-of-31 from deep is not a number that survives a tight fourth quarter.

Stats That Matter

• 31 and 27: Washington's made field goals and turnovers, an almost impossible pair of numbers in a win. A team turnover pushed the total to 28 in the box score.
• 9-of-16: The Mystics from 3, or 56.3 percent, their best from deep in nearly two seasons by the team's count. Atlanta went 7-of-31.
• 80-56: Atlanta's edge in field-goal attempts. The Dream took 24 more shots, shot 36 percent, and lost anyway.
• 28-16: Atlanta's edge in points off turnovers, with 13 steals to Washington's two. That wasn't enough either.
• 30-17: Washington on the defensive glass, which is how a team with this many giveaways limits the damage.
• 24-12: Washington's bench advantage, with Florez scoring 13 of them and Cassandre Prosper finishing plus-13 in 18 minutes.

What It Means

Washington is 10-9 and 4-4 at home, with a second straight win after Sunday's 124-123 four-overtime marathon against Portland, a game in which Citron scored 32. The team says this was its third comeback from 10 or more points this season. The Mystics stay home to play Golden State on Monday.

Atlanta is 12-8 and 6-6 on the road, and all four losses in this streak have come away from home. The Dream start a four-game homestand on Saturday against the Valkyries, who have already beaten them twice in the past two weeks.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nine points in one quarter. Twenty-seven turnovers. No Sonia Citron. If you pitched that as a winning game plan, you would get laughed out of the film room. Washington ran it anyway and walked out with a win. Call it Everything Everywhere All at Once, just with more turnovers.

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