Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Upon his team advancing to the WNBA semifinals, Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault said they were in a pretty good position.

As the lower-seeded team initiating a best-of-five series with the Atlanta Dream on the road, the Mystics knew taking at least one win in the first two games played in Atlanta would set them up pretty nicely.

They did just that Sunday afternoon with an 87-84 Game 1 win, and now the Dream are in must-win mode heading into Game 2.

Here’s everything you need to know before tip-off:

Opponent: Atlanta Dream (Mystics lead series 1-0)

Where: McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech, Atlanta

When: Tuesday, Aug. 28, 8 p.m.

Television: ESPN2

Game 1 notes: Elena Delle Donne had one of the most dominant playoff games in WNBA history when she scored 32 points along with 13 rebounds in Game 1. It was the first 30-point, 10-board playoff game since Candace Parker did it five years ago, and just the fourth time a player reached those marks on the road in the playoffs in league history … The Dream (43.1 percent) shot slightly better than Washington (38.9 percent), but one of the Mystics’ advantages came from deep: They drained 11 3-pointers compared with the Dream’s six. Ariel Atkins and Natasha Cloud each went 3-for-5 from the arc.

Pre-game reading:

Delle Donne, Mystics hold off Dream to win WNBA semifinal opener, by George Henry

Mystics dominate Sparks to punch ticket to WNBA semis, by Adam Zielonka

Thibault thinks Mystics felt ’a little bit slighted’ in Aces forfeit aftermath, by Adam Zielonka

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