Angel Reese’s 18 points, 12 rebounds carry Dream past Fire

Angel Reese had 18 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double, Rhyne Howard 14 points and four 3-pointers, and the Atlanta Dream pulled away from the host Portland Fire for an 86-66 victory Friday.

Naz Hillmon had 14 points and Allisha Gray added 13 points with three 3-pointers for the Dream, who built a 54-39 lead midway through the third quarter and opened the fourth on a 15-4 run to put the game out of reach.

Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 14 points, Carla Leite had 11 points, and Megan Gustafson and Emily Engstler had 10 apiece for the expansion Fire, who had a three-game winning streak broken.

Howard made 4 of 7 treys and had six of the Dream’s 16 steals. Hillmon had five steals and Gray had three.

Atlanta scored 33 points off 28 Fire turnovers.

The Dream, who had a 29-23 rebounding advantage, have won three of four.

The Dream began rolling in the third quarter, when Howard made a 3-pointer and Reese hit two free throws to cap a 14-1 run for a 54-39 lead midway through the period.

Barker made two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the third as the Fire closed the quarter on a 14-5 run to cut the deficit to 59-53, but the Dream scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to regain control.

Resse had six points and five rebounds in a sluggish first quarter, when the Dream jumped to a 10-3 lead and led 16-14 entering the second. The teams were a combined 10 of 36 from the field.

Gustafson’s 3-pointer from the top of the key capped a 7-0 run to give the Fire their first lead at 21-18 with 6:15 left in the first.

Howard, who had three fouls in the first half, made two 3-pointers in the final 43 seconds of the second quarter to give the Dream a 38-31 halftime lead.

Gray had five points, including her second 3-pointer, as the Dream went on a 7-0 run to open a 47-38 lead with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

Fire forward Bridget Carleton did not play because of back soreness.

–Field Level Media