Lynx pull away in third quarter, power past Dream

Courtney Williams scored 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, and the Minnesota Lynx pulled away for a 96-81 win over the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Natasha Howard finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (5-2), which avenged a season-opening loss against the Dream. Olivia Miles finished with 16 points and eight assists, Nia Coffey scored 14 points and Kayla McBride chipped in 12.

Allisha Gray scored 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting to lead Atlanta (4-2). Naz Hillmon finished with 15 points, and Angel Reese recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.

A 13-0 run helped the Lynx take a commanding lead in the third quarter.

The Dream trailed 44-40 after Gray made a 3-pointer off an assist from Reese with 8:56 left in the third.

Williams answered with a 3-pointer that started Minnesota's big run. McBride added a layup, Williams made two free throws and Howard sank three consecutive layups to put the Lynx on top 57-40 with 5:28 left in the quarter.

By the start of the fourth, Minnesota led 70-56.

The Dream trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

Minnesota led 23-14 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lynx set the tone by scoring the first seven points of the game. Coffey made a 3-pointer and followed up with a turnaround jump shot, and Williams added a pull-up jump shot to finish the 7-0 run.

Minnesota pushed its lead to 20-7 later in the first quarter on a layup by McBride.

The Dream scored the final five points of the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Rhyne Howard and a running layup by Sika Kone.

In the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Minnesota 23-19 to further trim the Lynx's lead. Gray and Jordin Canada drained back-to-back 3-pointers to open the period, and Gray and Kone buried back-to-back 3-pointers less than three minutes later to tie the score 26-26.

However, the Lynx regrouped and led 42-37 entering halftime.

--Field Level Media