On Saturday night, the Atlanta Dream were looking to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win at home. They got just that, but it took some extra work as the Indiana Fever took them to overtime. All-Star Tiffany Hayes helped lead the way for her team along with Elizabeth Williams. Here's the latest Fever vs. Dream game recap including the top performers, stats, a standings update, and what's up next on the schedule for the teams.
Game recap
Tiffany Hayes led the way in tonight's Atlanta Dream victory as she was 6-of-14 from the field and finished with 24 points. Hayes also knocked down 11-of-12 free throws in the win. Teammate Elizabeth Williams shot 7-for-12 overall and had 15 points while collecting just as many rebounds for a nice double-double. Williams also had two steals and two blocks in her defensive effort. Rookie Brittney Sykes also had double-digit scoring with 16 points in tonight's game along with six rebounds.
The Indiana Fever put up a solid effort, but it fell short tonight. They led 26-12 after the first quarter, but Atlanta outscored them in the next three-quarters and of course, in overtime.
The Fever received a 23-point game from Erica Wheeler as she shot 10-of-21 including 3-for-7 in her 3-point shooting. Jazmon Gwathmey had 16 points while All-Star Candice Dupree had 14 points and seven boards.
The Fever started the fourth quarter with a 56-55 lead and eventually extended that lead to as much as six points. After an Erica Wheeler 3-point shot However, the Atlanta Dream kept battling to keep pace with their opponents. Brittany Sykes' 24-foot 3-point jumper with just over six minutes left, cut the lead back to three points. The Fever would push it back to a five-point lead, but Tiffany Hayes sank one of her two free throw attempts and then added a layup moments later to make it a two-point game.
Erica Wheeler would hit another big 3-point shot with 1:16 to go, but Brittney Sykes answered that shot with 19 seconds to go, sending it to overtime. In the extra session, Atlanta outscored the visitors 11-6 to pull away with the win.
Standings & what's next
With tonight's loss, the Indiana Fever drop to 9-23 on the season with just a 3-14 away record. Things don't get any easier as they wind their season down. There are just two games left on their schedule, and the next one is a home game where they'll host Minnesota on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
For the Atlanta Dream, this win puts their record at 11-20 overall and 8-8 at home. The team is still on the outside looking in for the playoff standings.
They're currently 2.5 games behind the Seattle Storm for the eighth and final playoff spot, but the Chicago Sky are ahead of Atlanta and just 1.5 games back. Next up for the Dream is a game at the Los Angeles Sparks on September 1st at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.