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Silver Stars-Dream Preview

Aug 19, 2009 - 7:19 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

San Antonio (11-13) at Atlanta (13-11), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The Atlanta Dream have started to look better on the road recently, particularly at San Antonio earlier this month.

Their play at home has been excellent for quite some time.

The Dream have won six of seven both at Philips Arena and overall, and they'll look to stay hot Thursday night when they face the Silver Stars for the second time in two weeks.

Atlanta (13-11) was 2-7 away from home before closing a five-game trip with an overtime win in Detroit on July 22, and despite not playing another road game for two weeks, its momentum didn't disappear. Chamique Holdsclaw scored 21 points as the Dream defeated the Silver Stars 92-84 on Aug. 6 at the AT&T Center.

If Atlanta can continue to play well on the road, its first playoff appearance in the franchise's second season may be all but locked up. That's because the Dream have been one of the league's hottest teams at home, where a win over San Antonio (11-13) would be their seventh in eight games.

Atlanta began its six-game homestand with a two-point loss - its first defeat at Philips Arena since June 30 - but has responded with two wins. Sancho Lyttle tied her season high with 20 points Saturday as the Dream held off Seattle 88-79 to jump into second place in the Eastern Conference.

"We're not thinking about the playoffs yet, we're just trying to win games and keep getting better," Lyttle said. "Everything has come together for us since the All-Star break."

While Atlanta is 5-1 since the break, San Antonio hasn't been able to string together consecutive victories, going 4-5 to put itself in danger of slipping out of a top-four spot in the West.

The Silver Stars didn't have any problems in their latest game, though, bouncing back from a 12-point loss at Phoenix on Thursday with a 106-89 home victory over the Mercury on Saturday.

Sophia Young led the way with 25 points following her 29-point effort Thursday. Becky Hammon had 21 points and six of the team's 24 assists after scoring a season-low seven in Phoenix.

"I was enjoying the ball movement," coach Dan Hughes said. "... It was fun to watch. You don't get a lot of time as a coach where you feel there's a rhythm they could enjoy."

Hammon had 26 points and six assists in the Silver Stars' loss to Atlanta on Aug. 6, but her team shot 40.6 percent from the field. The Dream shot 49.8 percent and outrebounded San Antonio 43-34.

Hammon scored 25 points in the Silver Stars' 81-66 win at Atlanta on June 18, 2008 - their only previous trip to Philips Arena.