Dream vs. Mercury: Rhyne Howard Scores 23 as Jordin Canada Breaks Atlanta's Single-Season Assists Record

Somewhere between Rhyne Howard's fifth 3 and Allisha Gray's latest silky jumper, Jordin Canada quietly walked into the Atlanta Dream's record book. Wednesday night at Gateway Center was that kind of party, the sort where history happens and it is only the third-best storyline on the floor.

Atlanta beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-82, never trailing, two days after getting run out of its own gym by Las Vegas in a 22-point loss. Howard finished with 23 points and eight assists, Gray added 20, and Canada's night gave her 227 assists on the season, the most anyone has ever had in one year for this franchise.

Bounce-Back Basketball, With a Side of Threes

The Dream came out like they had Monday's 109-87 loss on a loop in the locker room. They put up 33 points in the first quarter and went up nine, and the first big blow came early in the second. Gray hit 3s on consecutive trips during an 8-0 run that made it 41-26, and at that point the 3,575 in College Park were getting comfortable.

Phoenix had one good answer in it. The Mercury immediately went on an 8-0 run of their own in less than a minute to get back within 41-34, and they hung around well enough to trail just 54-47 at the half despite Gray's 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 15 more from Howard.

The third quarter ended that. Atlanta went on a 10-0 run between the 7:43 and 4:51 marks that pushed a 56-51 lead to 66-51, and Jaylyn Sherrod's 3 with 2:49 left in the period made it 76-56. It was 81-66 going to the fourth, and the rest was mostly free throws. Kelsey Plum got to the line and to the rim to bring Phoenix within 92-80 with 1:49 left, and Canada answered with four straight from the stripe to put a bow on it.

Howard Set the Tone, Canada Set the Record

Howard was the best player in the building. She made 5 of 9 from deep and all six of her free throws, added six rebounds and two steals, and her eight assists led all players. On a team loaded with people who can score, she made everybody's job easier.

Gray was scorching for a half and merely fine after that, going 1 of 7 in the second half to finish 8 of 15. It did not matter, because the first half had already done the work.

Then there is Canada. She scored 17, going 7 of 8 at the line, and her four assists pushed her to 227 for the season, passing the Atlanta single-season mark Layshia Clarendon set in 2017. That mark had stood since 2017, and it fell in the middle of a game she also helped close out at the line. Angel Reese had a typically loud 14 points and 10 rebounds, her 21st double-double of the season. Naz Hillmon scored 10 and finished plus-21 in 26 minutes, while Brionna Jones gave Atlanta nine points and six assists on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench.

Phoenix's most interesting note was Plum, who scored 19 on 6-of-10 shooting in her first start for the Mercury and was the only Mercury player in the plus column at plus-3. Thomas scored 17 with seven assists. Kahleah Copper needed 16 shots for her 14 points, and DeWanna Bonner managed an odd double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while making just one field goal, a 3. The other eight points came at the line, because math occasionally has a sense of humor. Sami Whitcomb gave Phoenix nine off the bench on three 3s, though she was a team-worst minus-18 in 14 minutes.

The Run That Sent It Home

Phoenix had done the hard part by surviving Gray's first half, and it was still only a 56-51 game with 7:43 left in the period. Atlanta then scored 10 straight and turned that five-point margin into 15 in about three minutes. From there, Phoenix never seriously threatened. The Mercury did not lead at any point on the night, and that run took away even the thought of it. Atlanta's ball movement did the rest: 29 assists, with five different players handing out at least three. Phoenix kept getting to the line and made seven more free throws than Atlanta, but it could not keep pace from deep.

Stats That Matter

• 14 of 33 vs. 7 of 24: Atlanta made twice as many 3s, a 21-point swing in a 14-point game.
• 38-28: Atlanta's rebounding edge, including 31 on the defensive end.
• 29-22: Assists for the Dream on 33 made baskets.
• 23 of 26: Phoenix's free-throw shooting, which kept the score respectable.
• 227: Canada's season assists, an Atlanta single-season record.

What It Means

Atlanta moved to 19-11 and 11-5 at home, and that Las Vegas loss is now the only blemish in its last seven games. The Dream have won six of those seven, and they are 2-0 against Phoenix this season after an 82-80 win on May 24. They go on the road to play at Washington on Friday, where a Mystics team on a five-game winning streak will be waiting.

Phoenix fell to 12-20 and 7-10 on the road, giving back the good feeling from Monday's 106-101 win at Chicago. The Mercury head to Connecticut for a Friday game.

One Dime at a Time

Records like this rarely get a spotlight. Nobody stops the game for an assist, and the shot that gets the credit belongs to somebody else. That is what makes it such a fitting number for a point guard: 227 times this season, Canada has made another player look great, and on a night when Howard and Gray were busy doing the headline stuff, she quietly took a piece of franchise history that had sat untouched since 2017. Think of it as the Dream's version of the producer who never leaves the booth and somehow owns all the platinum records.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press.