Rhyne Howard scored a team-high 21 points and the Atlanta Dream held off a Minnesota Lynx rally in the second half to extend their winning streak to seven games with an 82-73 decision on Tuesday in College Park, Ga.

Howard’s three-point play with the shot clock running down at the 1:37 mark of the fourth quarter gave the Dream a 78-68 advantage, part of an 11-0 run that saw the hosts hold Minnesota without a point for a 4:09 stretch.

Nia Coffey and reserve Asia (AD) Durr added 13 points apiece for the Dream, while Allisha Gray hit for 12 despite running into first-half foul trouble. Atlanta (12-8) won despite making only 9 of 35 shots from the field in the second half (25.7 percent), including 1 of 14 from behind the 3-point arc (7.1 percent).

Napheesa Collier starred in defeat for the Lynx, pumping in a game-high 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting and also grabbing nine rebounds. However, Kayla McBride was the team’s only other double-figure scorer with 12 points. The Lynx took their third consecutive loss.

Minnesota (9-12) trailed 51-29 late in the second quarter but rallied within 69-68 when Collier drilled a 3-pointer with 5:15 left in the contest. The Lynx missed three opportunities to tie the game, enabling the Dream to pull away.

Atlanta completely controlled the first half, taking advantage of a Minnesota defense that allowed 113 and 107 points in its two games prior to the All-Star break. The Dream scored 15 points in the game’s first three minutes and held a 32-22 lead after one quarter.

Three-point shooting enabled Atlanta to go up by as much as 22 points in the second quarter before settling for a 54-37 advantage at the break. The Dream shot 12 of 19 from long distance in the half, outscoring the Lynx 36-6 on 3-pointers.

Minnesota made its move in the third quarter, playing its best defense in a few weeks. The Lynx held Atlanta to 11 points and ended the period with a 9-1 run, with McBride sinking a pullup jumper to cut the deficit to 65-59 going into the fourth quarter.

–Field Level Media