Las Vegas Aces W vs Atlanta Dream W

The opening quarter was competitive — the Aces held a 25-24 lead after 12 minutes, with A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young generating much of the home side's offence. But the second quarter unravelled spectacularly for Las Vegas.

Atlanta tied the game at 27-27 with 7:31 left in the half. Then came the defining sequence. At the 5:06 mark, Hammon was ejected after receiving two technical fouls, leaving associate head coach Natalie Nakase in charge. Rhyne Howard converted the technical free throws, and the Dream closed the half on a 19-4 run over the next 5:21, stretching the lead to 43-34. Atlanta outscored Las Vegas 28-16 in the quarter and led 52-41 at the break.

The Aces won the third quarter 20-19 and the fourth 21-26, but the 11-point halftime deficit proved insurmountable. Every time Wilson or Young cut into the margin, Atlanta had an answer — Angel Reese cleaning the glass, Howard hitting timely jumpers, and the Dream shooting a perfect 17-of-17 from the free-throw line.

Hammon's ejection with 5:06 left in the second quarter. The Aces were trailing 29-27 at the time — the game was still very much in the balance. The two technical fouls gave Howard two free throws, and the Dream's ensuing 19-4 blitz effectively ended the contest before halftime. Without their head coach's in-game adjustments, the Aces never got closer than 11 points after the break.

Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) — A game-high 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting, plus 4 rebounds. She knocked down the technical free throws after Hammon's ejection that ignited the decisive run.

Angel Reese (Atlanta Dream) — A double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, plus 4 assists and 4 steals. Reese shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the line and controlled the interior.

A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) — 27 points (7-of-18 FG, 13-of-14 FT), 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. Wilson kept the Aces competitive almost single-handedly, but support from the supporting cast was minimal.

Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces) — 24 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting, plus 5 rebounds. Young was efficient from deep but the Aces lacked secondary creation with Chelsea Gray unable to find her usual rhythm.

Player of the Match: Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) — 23 points and the composure to lead the Dream through the decisive second-quarter surge.

The box score reveals an efficiency differential that went far deeper than the 15-point margin. Atlanta shot 46.3% from the field (19-of-41) to Las Vegas's 38.1% (16-of-42). On the free-throw line, the Dream were a perfect 17-of-17; the Aces managed 10-of-13 (76.9%). That seven-point gap from the stripe alone accounts for nearly half the final margin.

From three-point range, Atlanta shot 7-of-14 (50.0%) to the Aces' 7-of-17 (41.2%). Both teams grabbed 21 rebounds, but Atlanta turned the ball over fewer times (9 to 10) and scored 11 points off Aces turnovers to just 5 the other way. The decisive split came in the second quarter alone: a 28-16 period where the Dream shot 66.7% from the field and made all 8 free-throw attempts.

The result snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Dream against the Aces — Atlanta had not beaten Las Vegas since the 2023 season, with the Aces winning the last seven meetings dating back to 2024 (Betmana H2H data). The win keeps Atlanta firmly in the playoff picture, while Las Vegas will need to regroup quickly after back-to-back losses. The Aces have historically dominated this fixture, winning 29 of 47 meetings since 2008, but Tuesday night emphatically reversed that trend.

This was a game of two phases: competitive before the ejection, one-sided after it. Atlanta's perfect night at the free-throw line (17-of-17) and superior field-goal efficiency were the statistical signatures, but the psychological impact of losing Hammon at the most fragile moment of a tight contest was the decisive factor. The Dream ended a historic drought against the Aces, and they did it in emphatic fashion.

Kickoff was at 01:00 UTC on 19 August 2026 (9:00 PM ET, 18 August local time).