PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Angel Reese had 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, Rhyne Howard added 14 points and six steals, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Portland Fire 86-66 on Friday night.
Atlanta’s lead was trimmed to 59-53 after Portland closed the third quarter on a 14-5 run, capped by Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 3-pointer with 20.1 seconds left. But the Dream outscored the Fire 27-13 in the fourth.
Atlanta started the fourth on a 9-0 run to regain control. Then, Naz Hillmon grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back while being fouled with 4:49 to play. She made the free throw for a 20-point lead at 77-57.
Hillmon also finished with 14 points to go with five steals, and Allisha Gray added 13 for Atlanta (5-2). Gray surpassed 1,000 career made free throws and the Dream went 17 of 20 at the line compared to eight attempts for the Fire.
Barker led Portland (5-4) with 14 points. Carla Leite added 11, and Emily Engstler and Megan Gustafson each scored 10. Holly Winterburn made her first career WNBA start in place of Bridget Carleton (back) and had six points and seven assists.
Carleton is second on the team in scoring (15.3 per game) and averages 2.1 steals, second in the WNBA behind Atlanta’s Jordin Canada (2.3).
Portland committed a season-high 28 turnovers, which the Dream converted into 33 points, and had 25 made field goals.
Up next
Atlanta returns home to play Connecticut on Tuesday.
Portland concludes a three-game homestand on Saturday against Indiana.
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