Brittney Griner scored 13 of her season-high 22 points in the second quarter Sunday night, when the Atlanta Dream took control before holding on for a 90-86 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis.
The Lynx (22-5) saw the end of a 14-game home winning streak, as well as a four-game overall winning streak.
Griner made 5 of 6 shots as Atlanta (15-10) shot 69.2 percent and outscored the Lynx 24-13 in the decisive second quarter. Griner was 8-of-13 shooting to finish the night to help the Dream get a split of their six-game road trip.
Jordin Canada added 18 points while Allisha Gray and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough contributed 12 apiece as Atlanta shot 52.3 percent.
WNBA leading scorer Napheesa Collier led all scorers with 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Alanna Smith added 12 points and Courtney Williams finished with 11 and nine assists as the Lynx lost despite shooting 56.1 percent.
Minnesota was unable to match the 2014 Phoenix Mercury for the fourth-longest home winning streak in WNBA history and took its first home regular-season loss since dropping its 2024 finale to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Atlanta held a 12-point lead after a basket by Canada with 6:59 remaining in the third but were held to two points for the next five-plus minutes. A basket by Griner put them up 57-52, and the Dream settled for a 60-54 lead entering the fourth.
Natisha Hiedeman’s 3-pointer a little over a minute into the fourth moved Minnesota within 65-59. Walker-Kimbrough sank a triple with 7:21 left for a 74-63 lead, forcing the Lynx to use a timeout.
Canada converted a three-point play and Naz Hillmon sank a layup for an 81-68 lead with about five minutes left. But the Lynx stormed back, and Collier scored five points in a span of 27 seconds to get Minnesota within 87-81 with 56.9 seconds left.
Collier’s bank shot in the paint cut it to 89-86 with 10.9 seconds left. Collier stole the subsequent inbounds pass but stepped out of bounds with 8.1 ticks left, and Canada sank one of two free throws with seven seconds left for the final margin.
–Field Level Media
