The Atlanta Dream showed why it will be a tough matchup for anyone in the upcoming WNBA playoffs by defeating the league’s top team, Minnesota, 89-81 on Sunday at Gateway Center Arena.

“It says a lot about our team,” Dream point guard Jordin Canada said. “When we play this type of basketball, we are one of the best teams out there.”

Three Atlanta players finished with double-doubles, led by Angel Reese setting a WNBA single-season record for the mark (29) with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She and Alyssa Thomas shared the previous mark.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Canada said of Reese. “She brings that grit, that tenacity, that attitude that we need.”

Allisha Gray posted her first double-double this season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. She became the 23rd player in league history to hit 500 3-pointers in her career.

Canada completed the trifecta with 16 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard finished with 16 points, including five key shots in the final quarter. DeWanna Bonner made her debut, finishing with seven points and four rebounds.

The victory pushed the Dream (26-14) into the fourth seed in the playoff race. The top four teams will host the first-round matchups. Minnesota sits atop the standings. Atlanta trails second-place Golden State by 2.5 games, third-place Las Vegas by 1 game. The fourth seed will host the fifth seed, currently Indiana, in the first round. The Dream will return to host Connecticut on Sept. 17, the first of four regular-season games remaining before the playoffs.

Gray’s 500th career 3-pointer came on her fifth of the game with 8:52 remaining in the second quarter.

“I credit my teammates because they were able to find me and put me in great positions to get me open,” Gray said.

Gray’s accuracy helped Atlanta build a 52-41 halftime lead. The Dream shot 54.3%, more than 20 points better than in the first half of its last game, a loss at home against Portland on Friday.

Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said the team’s decision-making, an issue in the Portland loss, was much better against the Lynx.

“I think we showed up at the beginning of the game as a different team,” Smesko said. “We needed to get on the attack; we needed to get them on their heels.”

Atlanta built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, which Minnesota cut to 71-62 heading into the fourth quarter.

Minnesota cut the Dream’s lead to seven when Howard got hot, hitting 3-pointers from the left wing on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 13 with 5:55 remaining.

Minnesota cut the lead to 10 a couple of times and Howard usually answered with a basket to keep the victory in reach.

“We were motivated not just because it was Minnesota and they're just an outstanding team, but we were motivated because the last game we thought we didn't show up at the very beginning with the intensity and the focus on a game plan from the very beginning, and we just had a different mindset about us, and that's just got to be who we are every single game for the rest of the year,” Smesko said.

The Dream has four players who will compete in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.

Howard and Reese will play for the U.S. It’s the first time two Dream players will compete for the U.S. in the tournament. Sika Kone will play for Mali, and Isobel Borlase for Australia. The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 4-13.

Smesko said he will use the break to evaluate his team, scout the teams in the playoffs, and work on strengthening three or four weaknesses with the players available.

“Good team effort and great way to go into the break,” Smesko said.