Auburn Hills, MI (My Sportsbook) - Deanna Nolan scored 25 points and the Detroit Shock dealt the Atlanta Dream a 94-89 loss in the opener of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kara Braxton posted 16 points and seven rebounds, and Alexis Hornbuckle contributed 15 points, five boards and as many assists for the third-seeded Shock, who won their third WNBA championship in six years last season over the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Iziane Castro Marques paced Atlanta with 25 points and seven assists while Angel McCoughtry put forth a strong effort with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Erika de Souza checked in with 13 points, seven boards and three steals for the second-seeded Dream, who are competing in the franchise's first playoff series after entering the league through expansion last year.

Atlanta jumped out to a 30-16 lead after 10 minutes and Detroit cut the lead to nine, 45-36, heading into the break with a 9-4 spurt to end the half.

Three straight buckets by Sancho Lyttle gave the Dream a 13-point advantage, 61-48, midway through the third, but the Shock turned the tables on Atlanta, scoring the final 17 points of the quarter to grab a 65-61 lead entering the final stanza.

Shavonte Zellous and Nolan hit consecutive three-pointers to help carry the surge and Braxton followed with a layup to put Detroit in front. Zellous then drained her second triple of the run to close the third.

Nolan and Hornbuckle knocked down a pair of three-balls early in the fourth and Taj McWilliams' jumper just before the five-minute mark saw Detroit holding a 10-point lead, 83-73.

But the Dream would not go easily. Down seven with a little over two minutes to play, McCoughtry's jumper sparked a 7-2 burst to bring Atlanta within two, 89-87.

After McCoughtry ended the run with another deuce, Nolan dropped only 1-of-2 at the line and the Dream came up with a pair of free throws to slice the deficit to one.

Nolan and McCoughtry missed field goals on their next respective turns up the floor, but Nolan came back and drove the lane to draw a foul on Lyttle. Nolan came down hard on the floor and Crystal Kelly came off the bench to sink two clutch free throws with 16 seconds left for a three-point edge.

Castro Marques was off the mark on a three-pointer for Atlanta and Nikki Teasley sank two more free throws for the Shock to seal the win.