Atlanta hosts Washington to begin playoffs

Washington Mystics (28-16, 15-5 Eastern Conference) at Atlanta Dream (30-14, 15-5 Eastern Conference) Atlanta; Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Dream -6.5; over/under is 164.5 WNBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Dream host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Dream host the Washington Mystics in game one of the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Washington went 2-1 against Atlanta during the regular season. The Mystics won the last regular season matchup 79-74 on Aug. 7. Kiki Iriafen led the Mystics with 15 points, and Allisha Gray led the Dream with 26 points. The Dream's record in Eastern Conference play is 15-5. Atlanta scores 91.3 points while outscoring opponents by 6.8 points per game. The Mystics are 15-5 against Eastern Conference opponents. Washington ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference shooting 32.3% from 3-point range. Atlanta scores 91.3 points, 8.6 more per game than the 82.7 Washington gives up. Washington averages 6.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 fewer made shots on average than the 8.1 per game Atlanta allows. TOP PERFORMERS: Angel Reese is averaging 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Dream. Rhyne Howard is averaging 17.7 points over the last 10 games. Iriafen is averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Mystics. Sonia Citron is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Dream: 9-1, averaging 95.7 points, 36.1 rebounds, 23.6 assists, 9.9 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.1 points per game. Mystics: 8-2, averaging 92.1 points, 37.6 rebounds, 21.3 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.0 points. INJURIES: Dream: Brionna Jones: out for season (leg), Angel Reese: day to day (face). Mystics: Shakira Austin: day to day (undisclosed), Sonia Citron: out (personal). ------ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.