Rhyne Howard said everything felt good, so she kept shooting.

Howard scored a season-high 36 points, and Allisha Gray tied her season-high with 26 points to lead the Atlanta Dream past the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at Gateway Center Arena. The two combined for 40 of the team’s 50 points in the first half.

“We were able to find easy looks,” Howard said. “We were able to continue to be
aggressive, continue to make them work, and execute with pace and poise.”

It wasn’t just Howard’s and Gray’s offense. The Dream again played well defensively for key stretches. This time, the Dream held the Sun without a point for the first five minutes, 11 seconds of the fourth quarter to turn a nervy game into a confident victory.

“I think our defense won us this game tonight,” Gray said.

Because Atlanta won, and it was the first game in this season’s Commissioner’s
Cup, The King Center, the Dream’s charitable partner, will receive $3,000. The
Dream will travel to Indiana on Thursday for the next game in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Howard hit 12 of her 24 shots, including 8 of a career-high-tying 19 3-pointers.

“I told you from the preseason till now, and going forward, this is a different Rhy,”
Dream Head Coach Karl Smesko said. “Rhy is locked in, she has a different level to
her. Today, she was huge for us. There were so many times we put her in a tough
position late in the clock, and she found a way to come through for us.”

Gray hit 9 of her 17 shots. Angel Reese added 12 points, including her first 3-
pointer this season, and 13 rebounds. Jordin Canada added 12 points and 10
assists.

“It feels nice when me and Rhy both connect and both have great games,” Gray
said. “I know, in the past, I’d have a good game, Rhy would have a slow game,
then Rhy would have a good game, and then I’d have a slow game. So, I feel like
when me and Rhy both have good games, where we're connecting, it’s a great
game, and we're more likely to win more games.”

Despite Connecticut having Brittney Griner, who was honored by the Dream
during the game for her time with the team last season, it was held to just three
offensive rebounds by a tenacious Atlanta defense. Atlanta finished with 15
second-chance points to the Sun’s three.

The Dream held a 68-65 lead going into the fourth quarter. It closed the third with
a 10-2 run that included Reese’s 3-pointer with 1 minute left. It was her
1,000th career point in the WNBA.

“It was a momentum changer,” Smesko said. “I thought the crowd loved it, team
loved it, I loved it.”

That defense carried into the final quarter and eventually sparked the offense.

Atlanta forced the Sun to miss its first eight shots in the quarter. The Dream’s lead
grew to 73-65 before it surrendered its first points. The Sun added two more to
get within two baskets.

The Dream responded with a layup by Naz Hillmon on an inbounds play, and
another 3-pointer by Howard to put away the game.

“Good way to start the Commissioner’s Cup,” Smesko said.