COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — The Sparks’ path to the postseason likely requires them to win multiple games against some of the WNBA’s best teams in a 19-day stretch.
They came up short in their first try.
Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Brionna Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks, 86-75, on Wednesday night.
The win moved Atlanta (27-14) into sole possession of second place in the WNBA standings, while the Sparks (19-21) dropped 1½ games behind the idle Indiana Fever (21-20) for the league’s eighth and final playoff berth.
Atlanta, which has won five of its last six games, moved a half-game ahead of Las Vegas (26-14) and Phoenix (26-14) with three regular-season games remaining.
The Sparks play at the Dream again on Friday night, then host Dallas and Las Vegas with a road game at Phoenix in between for their final three games. The Sparks own tiebreakers vs. both seventh-place Seattle (22-20) and Indiana in their three-team race for the final two playoff berths, but the Sparks appear to have the most challenging slate.
Dearica Hamby had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Sparks, while Kelsey Plum had 18 points and seven assists. Rickea Jackson added 15 points.
Naz Hillmon added 15 points and Maya Caldwell scored 14 off the bench for Atlanta. Jordin Canada recorded her first double-double this season with 10 points and 10 assists.
The Sparks scored the first 10 points of the game as Atlanta missed its first seven shots from the field, but the Dream closed the first quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 26-24 lead. Atlanta started the second quarter on a 15-3 run to build a 41-27 lead.
Atlanta led 53-41 at halftime behind Howard’s 12 points and three 3-pointers.
The Sparks pulled within eight on Hamby’s back-to-back baskets that cut the deficit to 55-47 early in the third quarter. Plum and Te-Hina Paopao traded baskets for the final scoring of the third, as Atlanta took a 71-60 edge into the final quarter.
The Sparks pulled within 10 in the fourth, but a 6-0 Atlanta run – capped by a Hillmon 3-pointer – gave the Dream their largest lead at 82-66 with 6:03 remaining, putting the game out of reach.
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