LONG BEACH, Calif. — — Rhyne Howard scored 25 points, Tina Charles had 21 with 14 rebounds and the Atlanta Dream held off the Los Angeles Sparks 92-81 on Wednesday night in their season opener.
Howard had five points as the Dream opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run for a 77-66 lead. The Sparks found themselves at 87-81 on a 3 points from Cameron Brinkthe No. 2 overall pick, with 1:34 left, but they missed their final four shots and had a critical turnover while Atlanta made 5 of 6 from the foul line.
Haley Jones had 14 points and Allisha Gray had 12 for the Dream and Charles, the 2010 No. 1 pick who sat out last season, had 14 rebounds as the Dream shot 51 percent.
Kia Nurse made five 3-pointers and 23 points for Los Angeles. Dearica Hamby had 20 points and 14 rebounds and 11-year veteran Layshia Clarendon had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her first career triple-double. Brink also had 11 points.
It was 26-26 after one quarter and Rickea Jackson, the Sparks’ second first-round pick, hit a steal at midcourt and a layup to tie it at 48 at halftime. These were the first points for the No. 4 pick.
Los Angeles, which led 9-2 early in the game, had 15 assists on 17 field goals and the Dream, up nine midway through the second quarter, had 12 on 18 field goals, with both teams shooting at least 50%.
LA cooled to 39% shooting but had 24 assists and 28 baskets.
Jackson scored late in the third quarter to tie the game at 66 entering the fourth. She finished with seven points in 18 minutes.
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