Deanna Nolan scored 29 points and the Detroit Shock continued their late-season surge with a 87-83 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.
The Shock (13-14) have won four straight to take over the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of Chicago and Washington.
Shavonte Zellous finished with 12 points off the bench for the Shock, while Taj McWilliams and Alexis Hornbuckle scored 10 points each.
The game was tied in the final minute, but baskets by Nolan and Zellous gave the Shock an 83-79 lead with 28 seconds left. Sancho Lyttle scored for the Dream, before Nolan clinched the game from the free-throw line.
Atlanta played without Chamique Holdsclaw (knee) for the third straight game, but got double-doubles from Lyttle and Erika DeSouza. Lyttle had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while DeSouza had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Iziane Castro Marques led the Dream with 19 points, and Angel McCoughtry had 16.
The Shock appeared to be in control midway through the second quarter, leading by as many as 12, before Atlanta finished the half with a 21-3 run. DeSouza had 12 points in the half.
The Dream took a double-digit advantage of their own early in the third, but Detroit was within 66-64 at quarter's end. The Shock scored the first six points of the fourth, but couldn't finish the Dream until the final minute.
Copyright 2009  AP News
