The Atlanta Dream fell flat Saturday night with a 95-65 loss. Atlanta was playing its first back-to-back games of the season and did not respond well in suffering their second straight loss to Washington.
“It’s back-to-back. That’s always a tough game,” Dream head coach Michael Cooper said following the game. “Especially after going into overtime with a good team like Chicago. They played well. They were energized and they did what they had to do.”
Atlanta held on to defeat the Chicago Sky 101-97 in overtime on Friday at Philips Arena but didn’t appear to have anything left in the gas tank for Saturday. The Dream fell behind early trailing 26-14 at the end of the first quarter and the rout was on from there. Washington outscored Atlanta in each quarter and frustration finally boiled over for Cooper in the third when he was ejected for protesting a call.
“I didn’t like the call, so I said it.,” Cooper said.
Atlanta struggled at both ends of the floor shooting 41 percent but turning the ball over 21 times which led to 26 points for the Mystics. Washington shot 52 percent from the field and knocked down 8 of 16 three-point attempts.
“That’s not going to help you either,” Cooper added. “Turning over the ball over with a team like Washington that shoots the ball well, you’ve got to take care of the basketball. Again, that stuff happens when you’re going back-to-back-- fatigue plays a factor and I thought we made bad decisions.”
Tiffany Hayes led Atlanta in scoring with 12 points. Angel McCoughtry and Elizabeth Williams added 10 points each. McCoughtry finished with five turnovers. Tayler Hill led the way for the Mystics with 15 points while Emma Meesseman added 14.
The Dream are back in action on Wednesday when they return to Philips Arena to face the New York Liberty in a key Eastern Conference matchup.