ATLANTA -- Even after 17 years and two championships in the WNBA, DeWanna Bonner says she sometimes still has to tell herself to take a deep breath, relax and just play. Once she did that Sunday, the Atlanta Dream followed along with her to a 92-77 win over the Washington Mystics in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
The No. 4 seed Dream trailed the No. 5 Mystics by five at halftime and looked a bit rattled in the first half. The 39-year-old veteran Bonner was their spark in a 29-12 third quarter that changed the game.
"One thing you can't do in the playoffs is be uptight," Bonner said. "You've still got to play fun basketball. You've still got to laugh and enjoy this moment. I think the second half settled us down, and we had fun."
Bonner spent most of this season with Phoenix before the Mercury bought out her contract in late August to give her a playoff chance. She has not decided if this will be her final WNBA season, but in case it is, she wanted at least one more run at the postseason.
Atlanta signed Bonner Aug. 27, and she played five regular-season games with the Dream. It was for moments like Sunday that the Dream wanted her in Atlanta. Bonner, who didn't score in the first half, had 11 points in the third quarter and was pivotal in turning the momentum to the Dream.
"She made so many big plays for us," Dream coach Karl Smesko said. "And the enthusiasm she played with ... it's not just the playoff experience [she has], it's the joy of playing basketball. And that was contagious for everyone. It just made a huge difference in the outcome of the game."
Still, her experience is undeniably huge. Bonner, who won WNBA titles with Phoenix in 2009 and 2014, competed in her 99th playoff game Sunday. The entire Washington starting lineup had just six games of playoff experience coming into Sunday.
The only Mystics reserve player who previously appeared in the postseason was Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who competed in her 27th playoff game Sunday. After starting the season in New York, Laney-Hamilton was claimed on waivers by Washington on Aug. 8.
Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 26 points and Allisha Gray had 22. The Dream's Angel Reese, appearing in her first playoff game, had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bonner finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
"We let DB kind of get hot, and we know she's great in the playoffs," said Washington's Kiki Iriafen, 23, who competed in her first playoff game. "It gave them a lot of momentum and really helped them win this game."