Late push by Dream seals 3rd straight loss for Mercury

Phoenix had a nine-point lead with 2:46 left before it missed four straight shots as Atlanta made five straight.

May 24, 2026, 3:02 PM Updated: May 25, 2026, 12:36 pm

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ATLANTA (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 21 points, Allisha Gray added 17 and Angel Reese recorded her third double-double of the season as the Atlanta Dream used a late surge to beat the Phoenix Mercury 82-80 on Sunday.

Reese finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordin Canada had 11 points and 14 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The Dream (4-1) used a 9-0 run in a span of 85 seconds to tie the game at 73 with just over a minute remaining.

Canada was fouled on a drive to the basket and converted a free throw to give Atlanta the lead. Howard hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with 24 seconds remaining. The Mercury’s Kahleah Copper hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, cutting their deficit to a point.

Reese was fouled and made one of the two shots, and the Dream recovered the rebound. Gray was fouled and made both free throws to give Atlanta an 82-78 edge.

Copper was fouled an a 3-point attempt and made two of three shots with 3.5 seconds remaining for the final two-point margin.

Copper and Alyssa Thomas each scored 20 for the Mercury (2-5). Jovana Nogic added 11, and Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds.

Kyara Linskins scored 10 points off the bench for the Mercury, who next have a trip to New York to face the Liberty on Wednesday.