Gray, Dream hold off late rally to beat Sparks
Published
LOS ANGELES -- — Allisha Gray scored 25 points and the Atlanta Dream withstood a fourth-quarter rally and beat the Los Angeles Sparks 88-82 on Tuesday night.
Kelsey Plum had six points and an assist in the Sparks' 14-3 run to open the fourth quarter and Atlanta, which led by 17 points with a minute remaining in the third, led 69-67 with five minutes left.
Three-pointers from Rhyne Howard and Gray helped Atlanta maintain a five-point lead, 79-74, with three minutes to go. Azura Stevens hit a 3-pointer for the Sparks to make it 81-77 with 59 seconds left, but Naz Hillmon's deep 3-pointer put Atlanta back up by seven. Gray added four free throws to close it out.
Howard had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Atlanta (4-2). Brionna Jones scored 13 points, Naz Hillmon 11 and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 10.
Dearica Hamby had 28 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals for the Sparks (2-4). Plum finished with 27 points, five assists and four steals. Azura Stevens added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Maya Caldwell's 3-pointer gave Atlanta a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Dream added three 3-pointers to open the second period and went on to lead 40-31 at halftime.
The Sparks were as close as 51-45 midway through the third quarter after a three-point play by Plum, but Atlanta's next three possessions resulted in a layup and short jumper by Gray and a 3-pointer from Howard for a 58-45 advantage. Atlanta went on to lead 66-53 heading to the fourth quarter.
Atlanta played without Brittney Griner, who remains out with a knee injury.
Up next
Los Angeles heads to Las Vegas to face Plum's former team, the Aces, on Friday.
Atlanta visits Seattle on Friday.