Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Dream
May 27, 2026 | Target Center, Minneapolis
The Atlanta Dream gave Minnesota everything they could handle for about 22 minutes Wednesday night. Then the Lynx hit a 13-0 run and that was that.
Atlanta had chipped away at an early 13-point deficit and trailed just 44-40 early in the third quarter, but Minnesota responded immediately and never looked back, pulling away for a 96-81 victory to improve to 5-2. The Dream fell to 4-2.
What made the loss sting a little more: the Lynx did it without Napheesa Collier, who remains out following ankle surgery. Instead of Collier, Atlanta had to deal with Courtney Williams and Natasha Howard, and neither was particularly stoppable. Williams led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, added seven assists and three rebounds, and knocked down three threes. Howard was nearly as good, going 11-of-16 from the field for 22 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. Minnesota shot 59.7% as a team and outscored Atlanta 52-36 in the paint.
Allisha Gray gave the Dream their best offensive punch, drilling five threes and finishing with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Naz Hillmon was solid off the bench with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Angel Reese contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, though she went 0-for-2 from three. The issues were elsewhere — Rhyne Howard shot 4-of-14 and the Dream as a whole committed 18 turnovers, which Minnesota turned into 33 points.
Atlanta actually looked like it might make a game of it after winning the second quarter 23-19 and trimming the halftime deficit to five. But the third quarter was where it unraveled. The Lynx opened the second half with a 13-0 burst, built a lead as large as 19, and coasted from there.
The Dream head to Portland to face the Fire on Friday night at 10:00 PM ET.
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