Dream look to avenge season-opening loss to Mystics

The Atlanta Dream look to run their winning streak to three games Sunday when they visit the Washington Mystics for a Commissioner's Cup matchup in Washington, D.C.

Washington (4-6) opened the season with a 94-90 win over Atlanta. The Mystics have since endured two separate three-game losing skids, the most recent ending with a resounding 104-67 win over the Connecticut Sun last Sunday.

That victory was also Washington's first in three Commissioner's Cup outings.

Atlanta (7-3), meanwhile, rebounded from a loss in its first Commissioner's Cup game -- 84-76 at Connecticut on June 6 -- with 77-58 and 88-70 routs of Indiana and Chicago on Tuesday and Friday, respectively.

Rhyne Howard's career-high nine 3-pointers on 19 attempts powered her 36-point effort in Friday's win over the Sky. It was her second 30-point effort in four games, and was a significant bounce-back after scoring only three points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor Tuesday vs. the Fever.

"She's obviously a special player," Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said of Howard. "Her game in Seattle (May 30 when Howard scored 33 points with six rebounds and five assists) was unbelievable so she's capable of having these kind of nights. It's just a matter of her seeing her opportunities.

"The more aggressive she gets looking for opportunities, it opens up a lot of things for everybody."

Howard's two individual eruptions propelled the Dream to two of their five games with 88-plus points this season. Atlanta's 84.2 points per game rank third in the WNBA.

Washington ranks in the lower half of the WNBA allowing 79.4 points per game, but the 67 points the Mystics allowed to the Sun snapped a spell of three straight games allowing at least 85.

Washington leveraged its defensive effort to create scoring opportunities, Mystics coach Sydney Johnson said. Johnson credited getting stops for leading to transition chances in the team's highest-scoring effort of 2025.

"Maybe it won't always look so flawless, but the improvement has been something they've embraced and the fast break looked a little bit better," Johnson said.

Brittney Sykes leads the Mystics with 20.6 points per game. Her 28 points against the Sun marked her seventh game with 20-plus points in nine appearances, including 22 in the opener against Atlanta.

--Field Level Media