Dream, Lynx aim to put offensive struggles behind them

Offensive woes led to season-opening losses for the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx. One of those teams will collect its first victory when they meet in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.

The Dream shot 35.4 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers in an 85-78 loss to Dallas on Saturday.

Atlanta trailed 47-30 at halftime.

"We had great shots in the first half," Dream coach Tanisha Wright said. "I was OK with our shot selection. ... If we had knocked down half of the looks we had in the first half, it's a different ballgame."

The Dream gradually reduced the deficit and got within three points with just over a minute remaining but couldn't finish off the comeback.

"We just spotted them too many points. Trying to make your way back into the game is really tough," Wright said. "I thought we did some things well. Some things we still need to clean up. We have got to clean up our turnovers. That has to change for us."

Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 20 points and 10 rebounds but shot 8-for-24 from the field. Cheyenne Parker contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds but committed six turnovers.

Reserve guard Danielle Robinson injured her left knee in the opener.

The Lynx fell to the Chicago Sky 77-66 on Friday due to a nightmarish second quarter. The Lynx were outscored 22-3 during those 10 minutes and trailed 44-27 at the break.

"That was tough. That was obviously tough to overcome," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Won every other quarter. But very clearly we are a work in progress."

For the game, Minnesota shot 33.3 percent and committed 21 turnovers.

"Our pick and roll offense just was not good," Reeve said.

Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride combined for 29 points but shot just 9-for-26 from the field.

"We didn't have that much fluid movement on offense and we can't be like that," McBride said.