FSM Essential Recap: Aces vs Dream – Game 4 – 2022
Las Vegas Aces (3-1) | Atlanta Dream (2-1)
The Las Vegas Aces got back in the win column with a 96-73 win over the previously undefeated Atlanta Dream on Friday.
Becky Hammon said after Tuesday’s loss that, turnovers were becoming a problem. But on Friday, the Aces met an Atlanta Dream squad that had even more of an issue hanging onto the basketball. Las Vegas used a combination of defensive looks, including both man and zone, to force Atlanta into 21 turnovers. The Aces went on to turn those into 22 points on the other end, which was a season-high.
From the opening tip, everyone did their part. It was a team effort in forcing the turnovers and holding Atlanta to just 73 points. A’ja Wilson‘s five blocks were game-changing in their own right, but no stats better describes the Aces‘ swarming defense than their 11 total steals, collected by eight different players. As a result, Aari McDonald (20 points) and Rhyne Howard (13 points) were the only two Dream members to crack double figures.
“I thought they (the Aces) really jumped out on this team in the first quarter, really set the tone for us defensively,” said Hammon following the win. “I thought we were super disruptive defensively and just locked in.”
Yet, the defense wasn’t the only bright spot for the visiting team in Friday’s win. It was a dominant two-way performance by Las Vegas, who scored 96 points against a Dream defense that was only allowing 67.0 points per game before the night (second-best in the WNBA). And for the third time in four games, five players scored in double figures.
“It’s free,” Riquna Williams said of the offense. “Do you, respectfully. If you draw two, kick. It’s super simple. Becky (Hammon) gives so much offense freedom in the offense.”
The Las Vegas Aces beat the Dream tonight behind 16 made 3s on 35 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Becky Hammon Era is truly here.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) May 14, 2022
The Aces’ stellar offensive performance was keyed by their ability to make threes, which they set a franchise record in makes (16) and attempts (35). After dealing with a foot injury, Williams‘ four makes from off the bench led the team in that category in her first game of the season.
“I thought she was great,” Hammon said of Williams in her debut. “She is automatic, instant offense. For her, it was an excellent showing coming out after basically not playing for a few weeks. I thought it was a really solid showing for her.”
That Bay 🤜🤛 #POINTGAWDDDDD connect pic.twitter.com/uRCExQnXDd
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 14, 2022
Williams‘ “instant, automatic offense” was something that the bench had desperately missed during its first three games of the year. Her 14 points on Friday were more than the entire bench’s average through the first three games (11.7), and her play on both sides of the ball helped the Aces start and close the game strongly.
“We talked about making a statement when we came out, especially how our last game ended not exactly how we wanted it to,” Williams said. We wanted to focus in on having a great start and coming out in the third quarter not flat and finishing the game the same way we started.”
The Aces will have three days off before returning to Michelob Ultra Arena on Tuesday, May 17th, for a home game against Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury. Follow the game live at 7 p.m. PST on CBS Sports Network, and check back with us for a game recap.
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-Cole Huff– Franchise Sports Media
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