WNBA Recap | July 29, 2026
Two games on Wednesday's slate, and both ended the exact same way: a fourth-quarter lead that evaporated in the final minutes. Dallas led Atlanta by 12 entering the fourth and looked like they would finally get the Dream monkey off their back, only to get outscored by 13 in the final frame and lose by one. In Phoenix, Golden State carried a six-point lead into the fourth and watched it slip away in almost identical fashion. Here's how it all went down, plus a look back at how the preview predictions held up.
Gray's Late Heroics Complete the Sweep as Dream Escape Wings
Atlanta Dream 82, Dallas Wings 81
Dallas controlled this game for three quarters and carried a 12-point lead into the fourth, looking every bit like the team that would finally solve a matchup that has owned them all season. Then everything changed. Atlanta outscored Dallas 30-17 in the fourth quarter, clawing all the way back and taking a four-point lead with 21 seconds remaining after Paige Bueckers made two free throws to pull Dallas within one. Arike Ogunbowale was called for a flagrant foul on a three-point attempt, sending Allisha Gray to the line for three free throws, all of which she made. Gray then scored again on a two-point jumper to put Atlanta ahead for good. Final: 82-81, Atlanta completes the season sweep. The Dream improve to 17-10, while Dallas falls to 18-10.
Allisha Gray was the closer Atlanta needed, finishing with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting (a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line) and a plus-3 that undersells her impact in the final minutes. Angel Reese posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting, adding four steals. Brionna Jones contributed 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench with three blocks. Atlanta's 22 assists on 31 made field goals and their 19-of-25 shooting from the free throw line, compared to Dallas's 9-of-14, reflected a team that found the right shots and made them count when it mattered most.
Dallas will be sick about this one. Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, but the flagrant foul in the final minute will be the moment replayed all week. Azzi Fudd added 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting (a perfect 2-of-2 from three), and Jessica Shepard posted a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Paige Bueckers finished with 16 points but shot just 6-of-11 with five turnovers. Dallas's 26.7 percent three-point shooting and their 18 total turnovers, converted into 22 Atlanta points, reflected a team that had every opportunity to close it out and couldn't.
ATL 82 · DAL 81
Copper's Fourth-Quarter Explosion Powers Mercury Comeback
Golden State Valkyries 89, Phoenix Mercury 91
Golden State carried a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, and for a while it looked comfortable. Then Phoenix erupted for a 13-2 run midway through the frame that flipped the game entirely and gave the Mercury the lead. Golden State fought back and tied the score with 1:36 remaining, but couldn't find another basket the rest of the way. Final: 91-89, Phoenix survives. The Mercury improve to 10-18, while Golden State falls to 18-10.
Kahleah Copper was the story, exploding for 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a scorching 3-of-4 from three, with four assists. Her fourth-quarter production was the difference-maker in the exact stretch where Phoenix needed it most. Alyssa Thomas posted a near triple-double with 25 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists on 10-of-14 shooting, and DeWanna Bonner added 17 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Phoenix's bench outscored Golden State's reserves 18-40 in Golden State's favor on paper, but the starters' fourth-quarter execution, not bench scoring, decided this one. Phoenix's 74.4 percent free throw shooting on 43 attempts kept the pressure on all night.
Golden State had control for most of the game and couldn't finish it. Cecilia Zandalasini led the Valkyries with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting, and Kaila Charles posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Veronica Burton added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five assists. Golden State shot 36.4 percent from three as a team and generated 40 bench points, a huge number that reflects genuine depth, but 13 offensive rebounds against just six second-chance conversions and a costly stretch of empty possessions during Phoenix's 13-2 run were the difference in a two-point loss.
PHX 91 · GSV 89
ATL & PHX Steal Fourth-Quarter Comebacks.
Wednesday was a night for fourth-quarter collapses and comebacks in equal measure. Dallas had this game against Atlanta and let it slip away in agonizing fashion, with Ogunbowale's flagrant foul turning a manageable lead into a devastating loss. Golden State's story was nearly identical: a comfortable fourth-quarter lead undone by one explosive run from the home team. Atlanta now owns Dallas in every meeting this season, a matchup quirk that has defied the season-long form gap between these two teams. And Phoenix's win, while modest in the standings, is exactly the kind of result that keeps a rebuilding roster playing hard down the stretch.
Star of the Night: Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
25 points | 8-of-13 FG | 9-of-9 FT | Game-winning free throws and jumper in the final 21 seconds
Gray delivered when the game was on the line twice in the span of 20 seconds, first at the free throw line after Ogunbowale's flagrant, then with the go-ahead jumper. A perfect night from the stripe combined with the poise to make the biggest shot of the game gives her the easy choice.
Dud of the Night: Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings
24 points | 9-of-16 FG | Flagrant foul on a critical late three-point attempt
Ogunbowale scored efficiently for most of the night, but the flagrant foul in the closing seconds directly gifted Atlanta three free throws and the momentum that decided the game. In a one-point loss, no single moment was more costly.
How We Did: Checking the Preview Predictions
Wednesday's preview went 0-for-2 on the picks against the market, a rough night across the board.
Atlanta @ Dallas: The preview leaned Dallas -1.5 with low confidence, explicitly flagging that Atlanta's matchup history complicated the read. That hedge turned out to be the right instinct. Atlanta won outright, extending their perfect record in this specific series, and the two teams combined for just 163 points, well under the 180.5 total. Wrong on the side, wrong on the total, but our own uncertainty about betting against Atlanta's history in this matchup proved prescient.
Golden State @ Phoenix: The preview picked Golden State on the moneyline with the under as the more confident call at 155.5. Phoenix won outright, and the two teams combined for 180 points, blowing past the total by nearly 25 points. Both calls missed, and the "most confident call of the night" being the under makes this the more painful whiff of the two games.
The headline takeaway: Atlanta's ownership of the Dallas matchup remains one of the most confounding trends of the season, a team that is worse on paper continuing to find ways to win against a specific opponent. And in Phoenix, a defensive grind projection turned into a track meet, a reminder that totals projections carry real uncertainty even when both defenses have been stout for most of the season.