Rhyne Howard pours in 36 as Dream down Sky

Rhyne Howard scored a season-high 36 points to help the Atlanta Dream post an 88-70 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday in College Park, Ga.

Allisha Gray added 15 points while Brionna Jones compiled 13 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta (7-3), which won its sixth game in seven tries. Jordin Canada had 12 points and eight assists in the win.

Kamilla Cardoso logged 15 points and nine rebounds for Chicago (2-7). Angel Reese had 12 points and nine boards, and Ariel Atkins finished with 12 points. The Sky dropped their third straight game and fell to 1-5 on the road.

After trailing by a point at half, Atlanta reclaimed the lead on consecutive 3-pointers by Canada and Howard less than two minutes into the third quarter.

Atkins' two free throws gave Chicago a three-point edge with 7:06 left in the third, but Atlanta held the Sky scoreless for nearly five minutes while grabbing a 53-50 lead.

Howard's step-back jumper with one second left in the quarter gave Atlanta a 58-54 advantage entering the fourth.

An 8-2 spurt to begin the final quarter gave the Dream a 66-56 lead with 8:18 left -- forcing a Chicago timeout.

The run continued after the break with Jones' three-point play and Howard's layup giving the Dream their largest lead to that point at 71-56.

After Atlanta took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, the Sky used a 13-0 run -- including Rachel Banham's consecutive 3-pointers -- to take a 31-23 advantage.

Atkins' jumper later gave Chicago a five-point edge with 37.4 seconds remaining before Howard's free throws and Gray's mid-range basket in the closing seconds before halftime sliced Atlanta's deficit to 39-38.

Reese and Cardoso led Chicago with eight first-half points apiece, while Howard's eight paced Atlanta.

--Field Level Media