Dream vs. Sky post game notes

This is the second time this season I've seen assistant coach Karleen Thompson meet the media after a game.  My understanding is that Michael Cooper is suffering from some sort of contagious ailment.  I think Coach Cooper left things in good hands, Thompson can hold her own.

NOTES

* The Dream are 12-2 over their last 14 games.  With all of the fallout on Sunday, Atlanta now holds a 5 1/2 game lead in the Eastern Conference.

* The Dream have a 10-2 home record this season.  Unfortunately, of the 14 games left in the regular season only five will be played at home.

* Chicago actually has a winning record at Atlanta all time.  The Sky's record is 8-7, but the Dream can tie it up as their next home game will be at McCamish Pavilion against the sky.

* Close games:  Atlanta has the best record in close games. I define a "close game" as one decided by five points or less.  The Dream are 5-1.  The team with the most close game wins is San Antonio, which is 7-2.  Los Angeles is 1-4 in close games and the Washington Mystics are the worst in the league at 0-3.

* The Dream shot 35.4 percent against the Sky; they won anyway.

* The Dream remain undefeated when scoring 80 points or more in a game.  It took them the last play of the game to get there, but they got there against Chicago on Sunday.

* The Sky's nine-point third quarter was their lowest scoring quarter of the season.

* Allie Quigley went 12-for-22 and scored 27 points, a career high for her.

Assistant coach Karleen Thompson opening statement: "I thought it was a great game for the fans.  Our team, it came together through adversity, through everything, it just fought hard.  Coming off a back-to-back we just wanted to stay focused and mentally tough and I think we did a great job of that, and we pulled it out."

Thompson on Atlanta going into the bench early: "Anytime you have to get up at 5:30 in the morning, it's no excuses. We just played a hard game in Indiana. It's mental, you really have to focus mentally.  It was just when things weren't going right, you have a bench that's there for us.  So everybody was ready to play."

Thompson on Sylvia Fowles: "Tough, tough, tough player, great post player.  We wanted to put Sancho [Lyttle] on her, [she would] be a lot more active on her so that Erika [de Souza] could roam around and try to crash the boards.  We wanted to put someone active on her, and Sancho did a good job."

Thompson on the Dream's intensity: "We look at our future, and what we want to do is win a championship.  That was a big thing for us, to win that tiebreaker with Indiana and focus on the next game with Chicago."

Thompson on the Dream creating space in the East: "We're going after a championship and you have to win the right way.  And we're not going to let down and relax on anybody.  On any given night, especially in the East, these teams are coming at us.  Be ready to play, no matter what."

Thompson on Allie Quigley's performance in the fourth quarter vs. the overtime: "We didn't want to lose her in the offense.  We did a good job trailing on her and put some pressure on her, try not to give her open shots because we see what she does when she gets them.  She's just a pure shooter.  I think they did a better job on her defensively, as a team we just turned it on and had to go to that, it's our bread and butter."

Thompson on playing in McCamish Pavilion: "It's Atlanta, we're at home and definitely a more intimate arena, where the noise is right on top of you.  So that definitely helps.  But these fans are great, and they're going to be loud no matter what and that definitely pushed us.  They were definitely the sixth man."

Thompson on the physicality of this game: "We're always prepared for a dogfight.  Sancho needed stitches in the game last night.  We're ready for a dogfight any way it goes, we just push through it and keep trying, focused and keeping our composure."

Sancho Lyttle about playing back to back games: "Yes, it is tiring. We played two teams who are big rivalries. But it is what it is. We come out to play, win or lose, and we have to play hard. We happened to go into overtime, which stepped it up. And I guess all the running we do in practice helped us in the end."

Excerpt from Pokey Chatman opening statement: "I thought we had opportunities in regulation, I thought we had opportunities to win it in overtime and I thought at crucial moments we made horrible plays." 

Chatman on winning without Elena Delle Donne: "That’s a nice excuse."

Chatman on losing five straight games: "Stupid stuff gets you beat. We literally have a segment of video that says that. Until we stop aiding in our demise, the hole is going to get deeper."