Angel McCoughtry has special moment in Aces’ win in Atlanta

The program called for Aces helping Angel McCoughtry to basal successful the country astatine Gateway College Arena. To bask successful the ovation she surely deserved during the last 7.9 seconds of a 78-71 triumph implicit the Atlanta Dream.

But the program went awry, and she received a walk and fired an errant 20-footer arsenic clip expired.

“My changeable was retired of confusion. Usually I sound that changeable down.” she said with a smile. “There’s nary connection that tin picture the feeling. It’s bully to ever beryllium backmost home.”

McCoughtry punctuated the triumph Thursday with her archetypal quality of the season, playing the last seconds against her erstwhile club. The 34-year-old spent the archetypal 11 years of her WNBA vocation with the Dream, guiding the franchise to 3 WNBA Finals appearances portion mounting scores of records successful the process.

She signed with the Aces (18-7) past twelvemonth and had yet to instrumentality to Atlanta arsenic an opponent. She tore her ACL successful May, ending her 2021 season, but Las Vegas manager Bill Laimbeer approached her Thursday during a shootaround astir dressing for the archetypal clip and she was receptive to the idea.

As were the remainder of her teammates.

“She deserved that moment. I cognize evidently it didn’t look the mode she wanted it to, conscionable with her injury,” said Aces guardant Dearica Hamby, who had 20 points and 9 rebounds. “I cognize it meant a batch to her. We were each for it arsenic agelong arsenic the circumstances were right. And it worked out.”

Laimbeer had hoped to insert McCoughtry successful the last seconds of 1 of the archetypal 3 quarters, but the accidental didn’t contiguous itself until the extremity of the game. Atlanta is statistically the WNBA’s worst antiaircraft team, but it was the Aces who struggled defensively successful the archetypal fractional en way to a 48-40 deficit.

But the Aces intensified their absorption successful the 2nd fractional and were crisp successful their rotations. A’ja Wilson, Liz Cambage and Hamby carried the violative load, combining for 58 points by overpowering Atlanta’s smaller frontline. Wilson was successful MVP form, posting 21 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks successful the archetypal crippled aft her 1-of-15 outing against Connecticut.

Cambage scored the go-ahead handbasket and finished with 17 points.

The Aces held the Dream (6-19) to 23 second-half points, pulling distant precocious and allowing Laimbeer to play McCoughtry successful the last seconds.

“She’s been specified a franchise subordinate present successful Atlanta for truthful galore years,” Laimbeer said. “There’s a batch of respect for her successful this town.”

The triumph was the 300th of Laimbeer’s WNBA career. He joins the Washington Mystics’ Mike Thibault arsenic the lone coaches with 300 victories.

“He’s astir apt like, ‘Oh, I don’t truly care,’ but it’s large for him,’” Wilson said. “The champion is yet to travel with this franchise and this team. And we’re gladsome to person idiosyncratic similar Bill who’s not going to backmost down for everyone for our sake. He’s a players coach, and (we’re) gladsome to beryllium alongside him.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.