Where to watch Portland Fire vs. Atlanta Dream

Date: Saturday, July 11 Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Gateway Center — College Park, Georgia
TV:  CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
Odds (via FanDuel): Dream -12.5, O/U 172.5

Last meeting

Atlanta picked up a dominant 86-66 victory in Portland on May 29. That was their first meeting of the season and also their first since the Fire returned to the WNBA after being gone for more than two decades.

In that game, the Fire ended the third quarter on a 14-5 run and cut Atlanta’s lead to just 59-53. The Dream responded by starting the fourth quarter 9-0 and eventually won those 10 minutes 27-13. Defense was a bright spot for the Dream as they forced a season-high 28 turnovers and converted them into 33 points. 

Reese led the Dream with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Sarah Ashlee Barker gave Portland a team-high 14 points while coming off the bench. Portland’s leading scorer Carla Leite had 11 points in that game while only attempting four field goals.

Angel Reese makes history but deals with injury scare, is questionable for Fire game

Reese registered her 15th consecutive double-double with 18 points and 22 rebounds against the Storm on Thursday night. This helped her pass Tina Charles for the most double-doubles in a player’s first three seasons in WNBA history. She did so in front of her former LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who was in attendance to watch her and Seattle rookie Flau’jae Johnson. Reese is averaging a career-best 15 points per game, while also leading the WNBA in rebounds with 11.7 boards per contest.

While her team is back on the right track with Thursday’s victory, Reese appeared to roll her right ankle with just 1:19 remaining in the game. The Dream star was able to walk off the court unassisted, but on Friday she was officially listed as questionable for the game with an . That same night, Reese received her seventh technical foul. This is a cause for concern because, per WNBA rules, an eighth tech will automatically lead to a one-game suspension.

The fourth quarter will be important

Although the Dream did snap their five-game losing streak, their fourth-quarter struggles were still visible on Thursday. This will be something to keep an eye on because Portland coach Alex Sarama limits even star players to 30 minutes in order to keep them as fresh as possible. Just like they did with the Aces, the Fire could keep the Dream on their toes until the final minutes.

Against the Storm, the Dream led by as many as 20 points halfway through the third quarter, but lost the fourth 19-15 as Seattle cut the deficit down to just 8 points with slightly under three minutes remaining in the game. In that last quarter, the Dream attempted seven 3-pointers, which were all unsuccessful. By the end of the night, Atlanta had gone 6 of 26 from beyond the arc. Smesko also pointed out that the intensity went down after the break, which led to more defensive lapses.

The coach has been emphasizing ball screen defense, and the overall effort on that side of the court helped Atlanta force 21 turnovers, which is the most for the Storm this season. Portland will have to take care of the ball because, as mentioned above, the Fire’s season-high 28 turnovers came at the hands of the Dream. 

Atlanta’s fourth-quarter results in the last five games

• Against the Storm on July 9 (89-78 win): lost fourth quarter 19-15
• Against the Valkyries on July 4 (88-83 loss): lost fourth quarter 24-31
• Against the Mystics on July 2 (81-76 loss): lost fourth quarter 25-16
• Against the Storm on June 27 (105-90 loss): lost fourth quarter 27-24
• Against the Valkyries on June 26 (78-75 loss): lost fourth quarter 27-20

Carla Leite on fire

The future in Portland looks bright with Carla Leite on the roster. She scored 13 points while only hitting two field goals against Las Vegas, but that is not a reflection of how well she has been doing recently. In the previous three games, Leite scored a combined 70 points, including a career-high 32 points in the quadruple-overtime loss against the Mystics on June 28.

She only started in six games for the Valkyries last season, but now is thriving as Portland’s starting point guard. She is leading the team’s offense with 15.2 points and 5.6 assists per contest. Leite recently set the single-season franchise record for assists and will enter Saturday’s matchup with 112 dimes. The previous record was 104 assists set by Ukari Figgs in the 2002 season.

“I try to not think about the statistics, you know, I just try to read the game correctly and find my teammates on the court,” she stated. “I don’t really pay attention about that. If I have like 10 assists, I could be good. If I can have five, I don’t care. I try to be good on the court.”