Rhyne Howard scored 18 points, Allisha Gray added 15 and Atlanta beat the Connecticut Sun 87-62 on Monday night, giving the Dream’s Karl Smesko a WNBA-record 29 wins for the most by a first-year coach.
Atlanta (29-14), which won its fifth straight game, moved past Last Vegas (28-14) for sole possession of second place. The Dream close the regular season on Wednesday at Connecticut.
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Atlanta led 45-40 late in the first half before Saniya Rivers banked in a long 3-pointer for Connecticut just before the halftime buzzer. The Dream’s lead was just 52-49 with 5:56 left in the third quarter before closing on a 16-3 run for a 16-point advantage.
The Sun scored nine points in the third and 10 in the fourth.
Naz Hillmon had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals for Atlanta. Maya Caldwell added 11 points and Brittney Griner scored 10.
Rivers scored 16 points, Aneesah Morrow had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Tina Charles scored 12 for Connecticut (11-32), which dropped to 4-18 on the road this season.
Rivers made two 3-pointers in the first half to set Connecticut’s rookie record with 42 3-pointers in a single season.
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