Rhyne Howard scores 36, hits 8 threes as Dream beat Sun 91-75 to open Commissioner's Cup; Angel Reese records 1,000th career point
Rhyne Howard put on a show Tuesday night, and the Atlanta Dream are off to a 1-0 start in the Commissioner's Cup.
Howard set a season high with 36 points and knocked down eight three-pointers, also a season high, as the Dream defeated the Connecticut Sun 91-75 at Gateway Center Arena. The Dream improved to 6-2 on the season while opening Commissioner's Cup play with a statement win.
Howard was simply unstoppable down the stretch, taking over in the fourth quarter when Atlanta needed her most. She finished 12-of-24 from the field and 8-of-19 from three-point range, adding four assists and three steals in 37 minutes.
"Everything felt good, so I kept shooting," Howard said. "We were able to find easy looks, we were able to continue to be aggressive, continue to make them work, and doing it with pace and poise."
Dream head coach Karl Smesko has been saying all season this is a different player, and Tuesday was more proof.
"I told you from the preseason to now and going forward, this is a different Rhy," Smesko said. "Rhy is locked in, she has a different level to her. She's been an All-Star, but she is taking us to another level and you can see it. Today she was huge for us. There were so many times we put her in a tough position late in the clock and she found a way to come through for us."
Allisha Gray complemented Howard with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, going 3-of-9 from three and adding seven rebounds. Jordin Canada recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 assists. Angel Reese added 12 points and 13 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season, and reached 1,000 career WNBA points on her first 3-pointer of the season, according to the Atlanta Dream.
The game was tightly contested for three quarters. The Sun led 65-61 early in the third quarter before Atlanta closed the period on a 7-0 run, with five of those points coming from Reese, to take a 68-65 lead into the fourth. The Dream then exploded, turning their 7-0 run at the end of the third into a 14-0 run to open the fourth, leading to a dominant 17-point margin late in the game.
Gray credited the defense for setting the tone.
"Basketball is a game of runs, but we know in the end whoever has the most possessions and battles the hardest is going to win the game," Gray said. "I think our defense really won us the game tonight, and being able to hit big shots during certain stretches allowed us to pull out the fourth quarter."
Smesko said the Commissioner's Cup stakes made the win especially important.
"You drop one game and you're going to be in a really tough position to win the Commissioner's Cup," Smesko said. "It's nice everybody was able to contribute to a win. Naz on the out-of-bounds play, they had it well guarded, she makes a great cut and gets a big basket. JC had a double-double. Everybody contributed."
Notably, the Dream won without a single bench point. Smesko acknowledged that getting bench players more involved will be a priority going forward.
For Connecticut, Aneesah Morrow led the Sun with 20 points and 13 rebounds despite fouling out. The Sun fall to 2-9 on the season and remain last in the Western Conference. Atlanta is first in the Eastern Conference at 6-2. They'll face the Indiana Fever on Thursday in Indianapolis.
