Dream vs. Lynx: Angel Reese Breaks WNBA Record With 29th Double-Double of the Season in 89-81 Win

The Minnesota Lynx rolled into College Park on Sunday afternoon with the WNBA's best record and an eight-game road winning streak. They left with the record still on top of the standings and the streak in pieces, after spending the afternoon watching Angel Reese take a league record for herself.

Reese finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, her 29th double-double of the season, which moved her past the WNBA mark of 28 that Alyssa Thomas set in 2023. Around her, the Atlanta Dream played their most complete game of the week and beat the Lynx 89-81 at Gateway Center. Allisha Gray drilled six 3-pointers on her way to 23 points and 11 rebounds, Jordin Canada posted 16 points and 10 assists, and Rhyne Howard saved 12 of her 16 points for the fourth quarter, when Atlanta needed every one of them.

It was the Dream's final game before the FIBA World Cup break, and they made it count. Two days earlier, Portland had walked into this same gym and hung 101 on them. This time, Atlanta led for almost the entire 40 minutes.

Wire to Wire, With One Scare

Minnesota's biggest lead of the day was two points. Atlanta's was 20. That pretty much explains the shape of this thing.

The Dream won the first quarter 26-21 and the second 26-20, taking a 52-41 lead into the locker room. Just as important, the defense held the Lynx to 6 of 19 from deep. Minnesota's best stretches came in transition, where it piled up 17 fast-break points, but every half-court trip felt like work.

The Lynx are 31-9 for a reason, though, and they do not fold. Late in the third quarter, with Atlanta up 71-56, Minnesota ripped off eight straight points that bled into the fourth, part of a 13-2 surge that dragged the deficit all the way down to seven. Suddenly a comfortable afternoon had a pulse.

Reese Makes History, Gray Makes It Rain

Let's be honest about Reese's day: it was not her prettiest. She turned it over five times and picked up five fouls. She also shot 5 of 9, took eight free throws, crashed for three offensive boards and finished plus-15. Records do not come with style points, and this one is hers now. Per the AP, she had already set records this year for rebounding in a single game and over a season, so the double-double mark is just the next entry in a crowded trophy case.

Gray, though, was the best player on the floor. She went 6 of 11 from beyond the arc and 8 of 16 overall, grabbed 10 of her 11 rebounds on the defensive end and added three steals. That is the kind of two-way stat line that beats teams this good, and she finished plus-17.

Canada was the conductor: 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 10 assists against two turnovers, and 36 minutes of steering an offense that finished with 21 assists on 33 baskets. Howard's numbers (6 of 16 from the field, 2 of 9 from deep) will not win any efficiency awards, but nobody in Atlanta will remember the misses.

DeWanna Bonner also made her Dream debut, scoring seven points in 17 minutes. Per the AP, she signed with Atlanta after Phoenix bought out her contract on Monday.

For Minnesota, rookie Olivia Miles was the best thing going, with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 6 of 7 at the line. Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier scored 17 apiece, though Collier needed 15 shots to get there. Courtney Williams added 11 in her return from a one-game absence, and Natasha Howard filled every column with nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

The Turning Point: Howard Wakes Up

Every comeback needs one more stop and one more bucket. Minnesota never got either.

Howard had missed her first five 3-point attempts. With the lead down to seven, she hit two in a row, and the second one pushed Atlanta back in front by 14 with 5:55 left.

What followed was a clinic in answering back. Minnesota scored on seven trips in the final five minutes, and Atlanta answered each of the first five before the Lynx could score again: Howard with a floater, Gray at the rim, Reese on a drive, Howard again with a pull-up, and Canada with a turnaround jumper that made it 89-77 with 1:12 to go. The Lynx never got within single digits again until Liatu King's jumper with 23.2 seconds left. It was the basketball version of firing off a hot take in the group chat and getting instantly ratioed, five times in a row.

Stats That Matter

• 13 of 36 vs. 6 of 19 from 3: Atlanta made seven more 3-pointers, a 21-point edge from deep in an eight-point game.
• 18 turnovers, still a win: The Dream gave it away 18 times and Minnesota turned those into 23 points. Atlanta won anyway, which says plenty about everything else.
• 37-32 on the glass: Gray and Reese grabbed 11 each, and the Dream outrebounded a Minnesota group that got seven apiece from Collier and Natasha Howard.
• 40-34 in the paint: Atlanta won inside and outside, which is how you beat a team with 31 wins.

What It Means

Atlanta improves to 26-14 (13-7 at home) and, per the AP, moved into a tie with Indiana for fourth place. The Dream also bounced back from Friday's 101-83 home loss to Portland, which had ended a four-game winning streak, and they took the season series from Minnesota 2-1 after a pair of May meetings at Minnesota: a 91-90 win and a 96-81 loss.

Minnesota falls to 31-9 (17-3 on the road). The loss ended the Lynx's eight-game road winning streak, and it was their second straight defeat after an 80-66 home loss to Golden State on Monday snapped a six-game run. Even so, Minnesota's cushion over second-place Golden State is still 2 1/2 games, per the AP, and this was only the Lynx's third loss since a 90-89 home defeat against Connecticut on July 6.

Both teams now sit through the World Cup break. Atlanta hosts Connecticut on Sept. 17, and Minnesota welcomes New York on Sept. 18.

The Record Is Just Another Stop on the Tour

Records like this usually fall in the final week of a season, with everybody counting down. Reese broke this one on a Sunday matinee in late August, against the league's best team by record, and treated it like a regular shift. It is giving Eras Tour energy: the record is not the finale, just another stop on the setlist. The rest of the WNBA should be more worried about how many shows she has left.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Record, streak and standings notes as reported by the Associated Press and recounted from 2026 results.