Angel Reese Has Career Night, Final Box Score Stats, Highlights as Dream Clinch Playoffs vs. Mercury

Angel Reese enjoyed a career night as the Atlanta Dream sealed their place in the WNBA playoffs.

The third-year forward had 31 points in a 99-89 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday. She posted her 26th double-double of the season thanks to grabbing 14 rebounds.

PTS	FG	REB	AST	STL	BLK
31	14-21	14	2	4	0

"I think she keeps getting better and keeps being able to expand her game," Dream coach Karl Smesko said, per ESPN.com. "I think she really found her opportunities to be physical. They weren't really sending doubles, so she had her opportunities to catch the ball in the short and do some post moves to score. She was able to get behind on some ball screens for some layups where our guards were able to find her, got a couple of putbacks.

"She was scoring in a multitude of ways, had a really great fourth quarter for us, and it's good to see her have one of her best games of her career, offensively."

Reese did a lot of damage around the basket, taking full advantage of Phoenix's lack of depth in the frontcourt. Only three of her points came from the charity stripe.

Dream-Mercury Highlights

01:55

The three-time All-Star has made a conscious effort to widen her range, though it remains a work in progress.

Reese's 50 three-point attempts are more than double her previous high (22), but she's shooting just 18 percent from deep. Her overall efficiency hasn't improved, either, as she's knocking down 47.3 percent of her two-pointers, nearly equal to her 2025 output (47.8 percent).

The postseason figures to be a major test for Reese and the Dream as a whole. She didn't taste playoff basketball during her two years with the Chicago Sky, while Atlanta is coming off a disappointing first-round exit a season ago.

Games often slow down in the playoffs, and spacing the floor becomes more imperative. Players such as Reese, who aren't reliable three-point threats, can be exploited by opposing coaches.

Assuming she doesn't suddenly blossom into a stretch 4 over the next month, Reese may nonetheless remain effective through her rebounding and relentless motor in the paint.

The Dream, meanwhile, are clearly looking to her to provide something they were lacking when they got bounced by the Indiana Fever.