Rhyne Howard scores 23, Allisha Gray adds 20 and the Dream beat the Mercury 96-82

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Rhyne Howard had 23 points and eight assists, Allisha Gray added 20 points and the Atlanta Dream beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-82 on Wednesday night.

Howard made five of Atlanta's 14 3-pointers, while Phoenix was just 7 for 24 (29%).

Angel Reese had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season for Atlanta (19-11), which has won six of its last seven games. Jordin Canada set Atlanta's single-season record for assists with 227, passing Layshia Clarendon's mark in 2017.

Kelsey Plum scored 19 points in her first start for Phoenix (12-20), which never led. Alyssa Thomas scored 17 points, and DeWanna Bonner had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Gray made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Atlanta a 41-26 lead. She finished the first half with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Howard added 15 to help Atlanta build a 54-47 lead.

Jaylyn Sherrod put Atlanta ahead 76-56 on a 3-pointer with 2:49 left in the third quarter.

Mercury: At Connecticut on Friday.

Dream: At Washington on Friday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball