Atlanta, GA — Rhyne Howard delivered in the closing moments and Angel Reese continued her strong start to the season as the Atlanta Dream erased a late deficit to defeat the Phoenix Mercury 82-80 on Sunday night.
Howard led Atlanta with 21 points, while Allisha Gray added 17 points in a game that came down to the final seconds. Reese posted her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Dream improve to 4-1 on the year.
Jordin Canada also turned in a major performance for Atlanta, recording her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Trailing late in the fourth quarter, the Dream caught fire with a decisive 9-0 run over just 85 seconds, tying the contest at 73 with slightly more than a minute remaining.
Canada gave Atlanta the lead after drawing a foul on a drive to the basket and converting a free throw. Moments later, Howard knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to extend the Dream advantage to four points with 24 seconds left.
Phoenix answered quickly as Kahleah Copper drilled a 3-pointer on the next possession to cut the deficit to one.
Reese was fouled shortly afterward and split a pair of free throws before Atlanta secured the rebound. Gray then calmly connected on two free throws to push the Dream ahead 82-78 in the closing seconds.
Copper still gave Phoenix one final opportunity after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3.5 seconds remaining. She made two of the three free throws, but the Mercury could not complete the comeback.
Copper finished with 20 points for Phoenix, while Alyssa Thomas matched her with 20 points and added 12 rebounds. Jovana Nogic contributed 11 points, and Kyara Linskens added 10 points off the bench for the Mercury, who dropped to 2-5 on the season.
Atlanta’s balanced effort and late-game execution proved to be the difference as the Dream continued one of the league’s strongest starts.
Next up, Phoenix travels to face the defending champion New York Liberty on Wednesday, while Atlanta heads to Minnesota for a matchup against the Minnesota Lynx.
