rhyne howard

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — The Sparks inched closer to playoff elimination on Friday night.

Rhyne Howard tied the WNBA record with nine 3-pointers and finished with 37 points, Atlanta tied the team record with 19 3s and the Dream beat the Sparks 104-85.

Howard had three attempts at the record, which she already shared with Kelsey Mitchell (2019), Jewell Loyd (2023) and Arike Ogunbowale (2024). She is the first two accomplish the feat twice, both this season.

Atlanta (28-14), which clinched home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, tied the team record on Jordin Canada’s shot with 1:44 to play. New York hit 19 3-pointers twice this season and Las Vegas had 23 3s in a playoff game.

The Sparks’ Dearica Hamby shoots the ball under pressure from the Dream’s Brittney Griner during the second quarter at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., on Friday.

(Paras Griffin / Getty Images)

Maya Caldwell hit five 3s and scored 19 points for Atlanta and Brionna Jones added 12. The Dream were 19 for 39 from the arc. Howard was 9 for 17 and Caldwell 5 for 7.

Dearica Hamby scored 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting for the Sparks (19-22), who are 2 1/2 games behind Indiana in seventh place in the standings and Seattle in eighth. The Fever and Storm have an easier remaining schedules as they push to become one of the league’s eight playoff teams.

Kelsey Plum added 20 points and Rickea Jackson 17 for the Sparks.

The Sparks tied the score at 64 on Hamby’s layup in the middle of the third quarter but then the Dream reeled off 13 straight, which included back-to-back 3s by Caldwell and Howard’s eighth 3.

Howard’s record-tying 3, with 28.7 seconds left, made it 85-71. Caldwell had 11 points in the third quarter and Atlanta led 85-72.

Howard made five 3s in the first quarter, seven in the first half when she had 29 points and the Dream led 56-52.

The Sparks are home against Dallas on Sunday.

ATLANTA — Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Brionna Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 86-75 on Wednesday night to move into sole possession of second place in the WNBA standings.

The Sparks (19-21) trails Indiana (21-20) by a game and a half for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Atlanta (27-14), which has won five of its last six games, moved a half-game ahead of Las Vegas (26-14) and Phoenix (26-14) with three regular-season games remaining.

The Dream play the Sparks again Friday, followed by a two-game series with Connecticut to end the season. The Sparks have four games remaining, two at home.

Dearica Hamby had 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Sparks. Kelsey Plum had 18 points and seven assists, and Rickea Jackson scored 15.

Naz Hillmon added 15 points and Maya Caldwell scored 14 for Atlanta. Jordin Canada recorded her first double-double this season with 10 points and 10 assists.

The Sparks scored the opening 10 points of the game as Atlanta missed its first seven field goals. But the Dream closed the quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 26-24 lead after one. Atlanta started the second quarter on a 15-3 run to build a 41-27 lead.

Atlanta led 53-41 at the break behind Howard’s 12 points and three three-pointers. The Dream led by at least eight points the entire second half.