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 in 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
