Allisha Gray scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, Rhyne Howard shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and the Atlanta Dream used a balanced offensive attack to cruise to a 90-79 road victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.
Atlanta (8-8) trailed for all of 12 seconds in the opening minutes before a Nia Coffey 3-pointer ignited a 12-0 Dream run. Atlanta led the rest of the way, as Los Angeles (7-11) found itself playing catch-up from a deficit of as many as 15 points in the first quarter.
The Sparks battled back to within five points midway through the third quarter, thanks in part to Azura Stevens’ six straight points over one stretch.
But after Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to 56-51 with 5:05 to go in the third, Atlanta scored 13 straight points to take control for good. The Dream’s lead swelled to as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Wednesday’s win was Atlanta’s third straight and second over Los Angeles in as many meetings. After Howard nearly set the franchise single-scoring record with 43 points in the Dream’s 112-84 win over the Sparks on Sunday, Atlanta took a different offensive approach to Wednesday’s victory.
Nine Dream scorers posted at least four points, with all five starters finishing with at least seven. Cheyenne Parker went for a double-double with 14 points and team-high 11 rebounds.
Coffey added nine points and six rebounds, and Danielle Robinson — who chipped in seven points — was one of three Atlanta players to pass for six assists (along with Gray and Howard).
Thirty of the Dream’s 33 made field-goal attempts came off of assists, including four from Haley Jones off the bench. AD Durr scored another seven points in reserve duty.
Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. She was one of four Sparks scorers in double figures, joining Stevens (16 points), Jordin Canada (13) and Zia Cooke (11).
Canada also dished a game-high seven assists in her return to the lineup following a one-game injury absence.
–Field Level Media
