Dream vs. Sparks: Angel Reese Goes 9-for-9 as Atlanta Sets Franchise Record for Points in a Game

Angel Reese did not miss. Not inside, not from behind the arc, not once. She came to Los Angeles mired in a slump around the basket, per the AP, and on Thursday night she went 9 for 9 from the field and turned crypto.com Arena into her personal shooting drill.

Her Atlanta Dream turned it into something bigger. The Dream beat the Los Angeles Sparks 124-88, setting a franchise record for points in a game, and Reese finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Rhyne Howard poured in 26 with five 3-pointers, and the Sparks were eliminated from playoff contention on a night they never really had a chance.

Over Before the First Timeout Song Ended

This was decided in the first quarter. Atlanta scored the first nine points after Los Angeles opened the scoring, then later reeled off 13 straight to turn a 15-9 game into a 28-9 rout. The Dream led 34-12 after one, and the Sparks spent the next three quarters chasing a ghost.

Los Angeles at least made the second quarter a fair fight on paper, scoring 29 points in the period. It didn't matter. Atlanta answered every push, including a 10-0 burst that stretched the lead to 47-21, and took a 62-41 advantage into halftime. Reese already had 18 of her 20 points by the break.

The third quarter was more of the same. Atlanta ripped off three separate runs of eight or nine straight points, won the period 32-21 and led 94-62 heading into the fourth. The Dream hit triple digits with 8:10 still left, per the AP, and their lead peaked at 42. By the end, Sika Kone and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough were the ones piling on, and the final minutes belonged to the bench.

Reese's Perfect Night, Howard's Fireworks

Reese's box score reads like a cheat code. Nine shots, nine makes, two of them 3s, plus 10 rebounds and eight assists in 30 minutes. The double-double was her WNBA-leading 25th of the season, and the history attached to it was even louder. According to the AP, her 9-for-9 night is the Dream record for field goals without a miss, and she became the third player in WNBA history to post a 20-point double-double on 100% shooting. She is now four shy of the WNBA double-double record of 28 that Alyssa Thomas set in 2023. Her three offensive rebounds in the first half also pushed her past her own WNBA season record of 172, which she set in 2024. The only smudge on the line was five turnovers, and she made up for those with three steals and a plus-32 in just 30 minutes.

Howard was nearly as dangerous. She made 9 of 15 shots, 5 of 8 from deep and all but one of her four free throws for 26 points, with five assists and three steals. When she's catching and letting it fly like this, Atlanta's offense is basically unguardable.

The supporting cast fed off the energy. Naz Hillmon scored 14 points with four blocks and a game-high plus-38. Jordin Canada ran the offense like a maestro with 11 assists and nine points. Allisha Gray scored 13, Madina Okot added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Te-Hina Paopao and Isobel Borlase added eight apiece.

Cameron Brink led Los Angeles with 14 points off the bench, making three 3s. Rae Burrell scored 12 and Nneka Ogwumike added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Sparks did show brief signs of life. They strung together an 8-0 run around halftime and another 8-0 burst late in the third, and Tonie Morgan and Chance Gray each gave them eight points off the bench. But every flicker got doused almost immediately, and 21 turnovers made sure Los Angeles never had the possessions to mount anything real. The crowd of 12,223 spent much of the night watching Atlanta get whatever it wanted.

The Turning Point

The 13-0 run in the first quarter. Los Angeles was still within shouting distance at 15-9, and then it wasn't. Atlanta's ball movement took over, the shots kept dropping, and by the time the Sparks regrouped they were down 19. In a game that featured exactly one lead change, that stretch is where the night's story was written.

Stats That Matter

• 35: Assists for Atlanta on 46 made baskets.
• 64% and 62%: The Dream's shooting from the field (46 of 72) and from 3-point range (16 of 26).
• 35: Points Atlanta scored off 21 Los Angeles turnovers.
• 56-32: Atlanta's advantage in paint points.
• 9 of 9: Reese from the field.

What It Means

The Dream improve to 23-13 and 11-7 on the road, and this was their second straight win after taking down the Aces in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The AP noted Atlanta has now won eight straight against Los Angeles, and the Dream are 2-0 against the Sparks this season. Next up for Atlanta is a trip to Phoenix on Saturday.

For Los Angeles, the season has officially turned toward next year. The Sparks fall to 12-24 and 5-12 at home, and the loss knocked them out of playoff contention, per the AP. By our recount of the schedule, it was also their sixth straight loss. They host Connecticut on Saturday.

Closing Take

There are video game difficulty settings that would be embarrassed by this box score. Reese playing perfect basketball while the team breaks its own scoring record feels like somebody plugged in a second controller and turned the CPU off. The scary part for the rest of the league is that Atlanta didn't need anything fluky to do it. The Dream defended, shared the ball and made shots, and when a team is moving the ball that well and Reese is finishing like this, 124 doesn't feel like a ceiling. It feels like a warning.

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