Dream set remarkable franchise history in win over Liberty

Atlanta is 24-13 this season and second in league standings, ahead of the streaking Las Vegas Aces (24-14), who have won 10 in a row, by 0.5 games.

The Dream have won two consecutive games and eight of their last 10 to affirm their place as one of the WNBA's best teams this season.

Guard Allisha Gray continues to deserve MVP consideration. She led the Dream in scoring against the Liberty, who are 5-5 in their last 10. Gray finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while adding four rebounds and two assists.

Atlanta excelled at several of the things it's done well throughout the season to overcome a poor overall shooting performance. The Dream made 39.5 percent of their field goals, compared to 41.4 percent by the Liberty. However, Atlanta took 18 more attempts, thanks to comm itting a scant five turnovers and nabbing 17 offensive rebounds.

The Dream entered Saturday with the league's second-lowest turnover rate (13.5 percent) and third in offensive rebound rate (25.7 percent).

Atlanta's strength in those areas will make it a difficult opponent when the WNBA playoffs tip off on Sept. 14. The Dream are in excellent shape to enter the postseason no worse than the No. 3 seed. A massive home game against the Aces looms on Wednesday, but afterward, the Dream has one of the league's easiest schedules.

Over their final six games, the Dream play the Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks twice and Connecticut Sun three times.

The Wings (9-28) and Sun (8-27) have the WNBA's two worst records, while Atlanta gets the Sparks (17-18) at home, where it is 12-5 this season.

With such a manageable schedule, the Dream shouldn't cool off before the opening round of the playoffs. Instead, their rout of the Liberty could be a sign of what's to come.