Atlanta’s Tina Charles poured in 20 points and Naz Hillmon hit a go-ahead basket in overtime as the Dream pulled out a 76-73 victory against the host Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon in a game with significant playoff implications.
Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard each scored 14 points, Allisha Gray had 12 points and Hillmon finished with 10 points as Atlanta avenged Friday’s home loss to Washington.
The Dream (13-25), Mystics (13-25) and Chicago Sky (13-25), who fell to the Mercury later in the evening, have the same record but Washington holds the tiebreaker and sits in the final playoff spot.
Each team has two regular-season games remaining.
Washington’s Ariel Atkins had 16 points, and reserves Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (13 points) and Sika Kone (11 points) were also key contributors. The Mystics went scoreless across the final 4:38 of overtime after Emily Engstler’s 3-pointer gave Washington a 73-70 lead.
Atlanta went ahead for good on Hillmon’s long 2-pointer that made it 74-73 with 1:35 left in overtime.
Hillmon forced the extra session with a jumper that squared the score at 70 with 30.2 seconds left in regulation.
The fourth quarter had highlights for both teams. The Dream broke a 63-63 tie on Hillmon’s three-point play with 4:04 left, but Washington slipped ahead 70-68 on Engstler’s 3-pointer with 1:30 to play.
Atkins had five of the Mystics’ six points across the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 59-59.
Charles, who pulled in 10 rebounds, shot 8-for-14 from the field.
Atlanta led 50-38 with three minutes to play in the third quarter, but Washington came storming back with a 14-2 run to tie the score before trailing 54-53 going to the fourth quarter.
Mystics center Stefanie Dolson, who entered Sunday averaging 10.1 points per game, managed only two points in 32 minutes. She was 0-for-7 from the field.
–Field Level Media
