Te-Hina Paopao reveals Dream’s silver lining after failed comeback vs. Aces

ATLANTA – It was the second time this season the Atlanta Dream were down as much as 19 points in a game, and it’s only been about a week into the season. The first came against the Minnesota Lynx in the season opener, and they were able to overcome the deficit and get the win.

This time, it was the Las Vegas Aces, and though they were able to grab a one-point lead late, it lasted for a few seconds. Chelsea Gray came alive on back-to-back plays to give the Aces the 85-84 victory.

Another big play from Chelsea. Rips the ball from Allisha

Dream lose 85-84 pic.twitter.com/k59VFhnQWG

— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) May 17, 2026

The Dream were coming into the game without Rhyne Howard, who was ruled out a day before, being in concussion protocol. That meant other players had to step up, and it was the fourth quarter where they turned things up after being down for most of the game. They’ve shown resiliency, but that doesn’t mean they want to find themselves in this position all the time.

“We’re tired of being in those moments,” Te-Hina Paopao said after the game. “We’re tired of coming back from 20-point deficits. At the same time, I’m super proud. We’re not proud that we’re experiencing this early in the season, but at the same time, it’s gonna help us along the line, and we know what to do in these big moments.”

The Dream chipped away at their 17-point fourth-quarter deficit, and with 36 seconds left, Jordin Canada gave the team a one-point lead. Before then, it was big plays from Paopao, Allisha Gray, Madina Okot and others that helped them get to that point. What they brought in the fourth quarter is what they want to see for the entire game moving forward.

“We all wanna see that all the time,” Karl Smesko said. “The energy and the competitiveness were great. The more we can see that, the better. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t send Dream fans home happy, but there’ll be more opportunities, and this is a long season. We’re gonna keep getting better, and I think we have the makings of a great team.”

Despite the loss, the Dream also showed that they can keep up with one of the better teams in the league.

“I’m really proud of our fight, and this is going to help us along the season because we experienced it early in the season when we’re not at full strength,” Paopao said. “I’m just super proud of this team, and we just gotta get better day in and day out and get the next win.”

“Win or lose, we’re gonna approach it as a learning experience and see how much better we can get from it,” Smesko said. “When you play the Aces, they make you pay for your mistakes, so you get a lot of opportunities to learn from this game, and I think our players have a great attitude about it, so I expect us to get better because of this.”

The post Te-Hina Paopao reveals Dream’s silver lining after failed comeback vs. Aces appeared first on ClutchPoints.