Angel Reese had a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds and Rhyne Howard added 20 points and five assists in the Atlanta Dream’s 99-89 victory Saturday night over the host Phoenix Mercury.
Atlanta (24-13) clinched a playoff berth with the victory. The Dream have won five of their last six games, including four straight on the road.
They are now fourth n the WNBA standings with seven games remaining in the regular season. The top four teams earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Phoenix (13-24) was eliminated from playoff contention and has lost five of its last six games.
Kelsey Plum, acquired by Phoenix in a trade with the Los Angeles Sparks early this month, missed her third straight game because of a lower left leg injury.
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix in scoring for the 19th time this season, finishing with 38 points.
Alyssa Thomas, who had a triple-double of 11 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, eclipsed 3,000 career rebounds in the game. She is now at 3,010 rebounds in her 13-year career.
Allisha Gray paired 17 points with five rebounds and four assists for Atlanta.
Atlanta, which never trailed in the game, separated early in the game after Howard made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give her team a 14-3 lead with 6:09 left in the first quarter.
Phoenix did not come closer than six points the remainder of the first half.
A 12-3 run by the Dream gave them a 46-31 lead with 2:59 remaining in the second quarter.
Atlanta led 50-35 at halftime behind 14 points from Howard, who made 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range over the opening 20 minutes.
Copper’s 3-point play with 5:05 left in the third quarter cut the deficit to 57-52, capping a 10-2 run for Phoenix.
Howard’s buzzer-beating bank shot after a drive to the basket put Atlanta ahead 73-68 going into the fourth quarter.
Naz Hillmon’s 3-pointer with 7:55 left increased Atlanta’s lead to 79-70.
Phoenix did not get closer than six points the remainder of the game.
–Field Level Media
