Becky Hammon's night ended early in Tuesday's Dream vs Aces matchup after the Las Vegas coach was ejected in the second quarter of a 97-82 home loss to Atlanta.
Hammon drew two quick technicals after confronting officials over a missed foul call on A'ja Wilson. Assistants and Wilson herself had to restrain their coach before she was sent to the tunnel.
A'ja Wilson's 27 Points Not Enough as Aces Fall to Dream
Atlanta took full advantage of the chaos. The Dream ripped off a 10-2 run right after the ejection and outscored Las Vegas 28-16 in the quarter. Rhyne Howard led the way with 23 points, while Angel Reese and Allisha Gray each added 21.
Wilson still paced the Aces with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. But without their head coach, Las Vegas couldn't close the gap. After the loss, both Wilson and assistant coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson explained what led to the sideline blowup.
Why Did Becky Hammon Get Ejected During the Latest Aces WNBA Game?
The delayed reaction happened after Atlanta's Madina Okot and Jordin Canada stopped a drive to the basket by Wilson on the other end of the court.
"She felt like (Wilson) had gotten fouled a couple times," Thomas-Swinson said. "She had asked for that a couple times and unfortunately it just didn't work out."
Wilson tried to step in to calm the Aces leader down, but by then, refs had already served her a second tech.
"Becky, rightly so, was upset with the no call," the four-time MVP said. "Just the inconsistency that we see sometimes, it's frustrating. It gets to you. We tried to hold her back, but Becky's strong as hell."
Las Vegas slipped to 24-13 with the loss, dropping them to fourth place, roughly a half-game behind Indiana. Atlanta improved to 22-13 as they keep pressing for a postseason ticket.
