Big game from Howard lifts Dream

Leading 78-75 midway through the fourth, Hillmon dished to Paopao, who drained a corner 3, her second of the quarter. On the next possession, Paopao found Hillmon at the top of the key, and she knocked down a triple to extend the Dream’s lead to 84-75 with 4:35 left, igniting the Dream crowd.

“She (Hillmon) wants to be like me,” a laughing Paopao said postgame as she sat next to Hillmon. “She’s done a great job just shooting the three and being confident. We know that she’s going to knock it down. For her to do that is just something that we enjoy and something that she’s going to keep building on.”

Chicago (3-9) answered out of a timeout with four quick points, including a 3-pointer from Rachel Banham that cut the deficit to 84-80. But Atlanta, after struggling to close games in recent outings, responded with poise. The Dream converted key free throws and got a clutch 3-pointer from Howard to put the game out of reach. They padded their lead at the line in the final minutes to secure the win.

Hillmon said the Dream’s defense and ability to maintain offensive rhythm were the biggest keys to closing out the win, something they had struggled with in recent games.

“They (Sky) had a couple of players who were really hot, and I think we were able to slow them down in the fourth quarter,” Hillmon said. “We also didn’t give up as many free throws. We gave up a lot of free throws in that third quarter, which kept them in the game. …We also just pushed the pace. We found (our) open shooters and they knocked them down.”

Ariel Atkins led the Sky with a season-high 29 points, to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Former Dream standout Elizabeth Williams contributed 16 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Angel Reese recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 19 rebounds, while Banham chipped in 10 points.

Sunday’s loss marked Chicago’s seventh in its last 10 games, following a 107-86 setback to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday in the first half of a back-to-back.

The teams traded baskets through the first six minutes of the third quarter, with the Dream holding a 57-55 lead after a free throw by Brionna Jones. Following a timeout with 4:28 remaining, Kia Nurse secured a key offensive rebound and kicked it out to Banham, who hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Sky a 59-57 lead.

Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the quarter and the game was tied at 69 heading into the fourth. However, in a quarter that featured a combined 18 fouls, the Sky went 14-of-15 from the charity stripe with Atkins finishing 7-of-7.

“She (Atkins) obviously had a really good rhythm,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. “Not just making shots but she was living at the foul line too. We tried to keep somebody fresh on her all the time. But she was doing a great job using the ball screen. She was getting to her mid-range. Then, if she had a little bit of an edge, she was going in there with the intent of at least getting to the foul line. And she did a great job. She was tough to guard today.”

Paopao sprayed her second 3-pointer of the night to give the Dream a 38-31 lead, their second seven-point advantage of the second quarter. After a timeout with 3:35 left in the half, the Sky responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a putback from Williams that trimmed the deficit to 38-37.

A few possessions later, Atkins hit a 14-foot pull-up jumper to give Chicago its first lead of the game with under a minute remaining in the half. But Hillmon answered on the next trip down the court, sinking a jumper off a feed from Howard to send the Dream into halftime with a 46-45 lead.

Both teams finished the first half shooting above 50% from the floor. The Dream went 9-of-17 (53%) from beyond the arc.

The Dream jumped out to an early 17-8 lead before the Sky trimmed the deficit to 17-14 a few possessions later. The Dream responded and closed the first quarter with a 25-19 lead, fueled by Howard and Gray, who combined for 15 points in the opening frame.

The Dream will return to action at 8 p.m. Tuesday against the Dallas Wings.