Wings vs. Fire: Paige Bueckers Posts 22 and 11 as Dallas Clinches the Final WNBA Playoff Spot

Dallas, your postseason reservation is confirmed. Please arrive early and bring Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers finished with 22 points and 11 assists, Jessica Shepard chipped in 21 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists, and the Dallas Wings rolled past the Portland Fire 96-78 on Tuesday night at College Park Center to lock up the last available WNBA playoff spot. The Associated Press noted that Dallas is playoff-bound for the first time since 2023, with five games still left on the schedule.

Wire to Wire, No Suspense Required

Portland never led. Not for a possession, not for a second. After a 3-3 start, Dallas ripped off nine straight points to go up 12-3, and Awak Kuier set the tone at the rim. The Wings said she had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in the first quarter alone, and Dallas led 27-18 after one.

The lead stretched to 14 at one point in the second quarter. Shepard had 14 points by halftime, according to the team, and the Wings took a 50-37 lead to the break. Bueckers spent the half picking the Fire apart, piling up eight assists before intermission, which the team said left her one shy of her career best for a half. Kuier was a menace on the other end too, finishing the half with 11 points and eight rebounds, a total the Wings said matched her career high for boards in a single half.

Then the third quarter turned into a highlight reel. Leading 52-41, Dallas went on a 13-0 run in under two minutes of game clock to make it 65-41. Bueckers buried a 3 that pushed the lead past 20 for the first time, and Alanna Smith finished the run with an and-one. The Wings led 71-52 entering the fourth, and their advantage reached as many as 26.

Bueckers produced the signature moment midway through the final period. She came up with a steal and found Ogunbowale wide open beyond the arc, and the 3-pointer made it 84-60. Portland did answer with nine straight points, the last three of them on a Carla Leite and-one, to get within 84-69 with just over four minutes left. Shepard immediately shut the door with an and-one of her own and a layup, and the celebration could officially begin.

Bueckers and Shepard, the Two-Headed Problem

Bueckers was nearly flawless. She shot 8 of 15, made three 3-pointers, went 3 of 3 at the line and turned it over just once while dishing 11 assists, finishing a game-best plus-26. Per the AP, it was her 23rd game of the season with at least 20 points, and the Wings said that number moved her into second place in franchise history for 20-point games in a single season. She was coming off a 32-point outing against Seattle two days earlier, and she showed zero signs of a hangover.

Shepard was the hammer to Bueckers' scalpel. She went 10 of 15 from the field, every make inside the arc, and added nine rebounds and six assists. The Wings said her five games this season with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists lead the league. It was also her 30th game in double figures this season, per the Wings, more than double her total from a year ago.

The rest of the starting five made sure nobody felt left out. Ogunbowale scored 17 with three 3-pointers, Kuier finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and three steals, and Smith went a perfect 4 of 4 for 10 points. That made five Dallas starters in double figures. Kuier's five rejections also gave her 54 for the season, which the Wings said ties Liz Cambage for the franchise's single-season blocks record. The team added that she and A'ja Wilson are the only players this season to put up at least 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight combined steals and blocks in a game while shooting 50% or better. Coach-speak calls that versatility. The rest of us call it a problem.

For Portland, Bridget Carleton and Karlie Samuelson each scored 14, and Megan DiLeo added 13. Emily Engstler was a bright spot with 12 points and 15 rebounds, a career high on the boards according to the AP. The Fire's bench actually outscored the Wings' reserves 29-14, but the Dallas starters were operating on another level.

The Turning Point: 13 Points in a Blink

Dallas was in control from the jump, but the 13-0 third-quarter run is where the game stopped being a contest. It turned an 11-point lead into a 24-point mountain, and it showed every piece of the Wings' identity in one stretch: defense that forced mistakes, Bueckers hunting from deep, and bigs finishing through contact.

Stats That Matter

• 55% shooting. Dallas made 38 of 69 from the field and 11 of 24 from deep.
• 26 assists. Bueckers had 11 of them; Shepard added six.
• 11 steals and 8 blocks. The team said the steals were a season high.
• 46-34 in the paint. The Wings bullied Portland inside.
• 10 of 36 from 3-point range. Portland launched plenty and hit 28%.

What It Means

Dallas improved to 23-16 and 13-6 at home, its third straight win. Just two days earlier, a 92-70 win over Seattle had put them one victory from the postseason; this one finished the job. The Wings also took the season series lead over Portland after losing 84-83 in June and winning 101-97 in July.

Portland fell to 15-23 and 7-12 on the road, its third straight loss.

Up next, the Fire visit Atlanta on Friday. The Wings host Connecticut on Sunday.

Final Word

There is an old line about how you are either building something or just watching other people build it. For a couple of seasons, Dallas was watching. Now the Wings are holding a playoff ticket and a backcourt star who treats an 11-assist double-double like a casual Tuesday. Literally, in this case.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Records and game notes as reported by the Associated Press and the Dallas Wings.