ATLANTA -- The Sparks' hill hike became a mountain climb.
The Dream made three after three after three. Rhyne Howard led the record charge and they took care of business against the Sparks, 104-85.
It's hard to defeat a team when the Dream (28-14) make a record-tying 19 three-pointers (19 for 39, .487). Howard would make nine herself, which ties the most for a player (also done by Howard previously along with Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Mitchell, and Arike Ogunbowale). In comparison, the Sparks only went 6 for 22 (.273)
"Rhyne's a rhythm player, rhythm shooter," Sparks forward Dearica Hamby said. "She see her first two go in, she's going to be pretty much lights out. The basket's big at that point. I think we did a good job the second half of slowing down a little bit, making her drive more than shoot threes but she had a terrific game."
The Dream won both games this week by double digits against the Sparks and hold the second seed after Friday.
"(They) can win the game a lot of different ways," Sparks assistant coach Mike Neighbors said about the Dream. "(They) can win it inside, (they) can win it in the arc, (they) can win in transition, there's a lot of different ways. It's a credit to them as a team that they're not just one-dimensional. You can't just take away one thing and expect to win."
At this point, the Sparks' playoff hopes (19-22) have nearly evaporated (they are still technically mathematically in it but they're going to need a lot of help). With three games left, they can get to .500 if they run the table. The Sparks can play out the string and end the season on a good note.
“You have a great locker room in there," Neighbors said. "They'll rally around each other, they've done it repeatedly throughout the year. We've battled a lot of adversity from day one with injuries, and we've stuck together. There's never a doubt that this group will find a way. We got plenty of time on that plane. I've witnessed it all year long. They come together. They battle through. No matter what it is on the court, we find a way off the court.
"So we got three games left," Neighbors continued. "We knew we had a tough stretch. We had more games than anybody to play, and we had very little rest to do it. You see how these guys do fight. It's not that we're trying to implore them to keep fighting; it’s just to encourage and remember. We've had so many come-from-behind wins, you know the last one in Seattle. Just it's never over till it's over with this group.”
The Sparks were led by the ever-consistent Dearica Hamby with 26 points. Kelsey Plum ended with 20 while Rickea Jackson had 17. As for the Dream, Rhyne Howard went off for 37 points. Maya Caldwell came off the bench to score 19.
The league will enter its final week of the 2025 campaign. For the Sparks, they'll start that week on Sunday against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.
