LOS ANGELES — Tina Charles had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Rhyne Howard scored 19 and the Dream beat the Los Angeles Sparks 80-62 on Sunday night to pull into a tie for the final WNBA playoff spot.
Charles shot 11 for 17 shots from the floor for the Dream (11-21) on the way to her 14th double-double of the season. She made five 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Dream end a three-game losing skid. It was Charles’ 187th double-double of her career. She now is seven double-doubles away from the all-time WNBA record. Her performance also marked her 100th regular-season game with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, making her the first player in WNBA history to reach the milestone.
Allisha Gray had 12 points and Naz Hillmon pitched in with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Dream, who tied Chicago for the last playoff spot after the Sky lost 79-74 to the Minnesota Lynx earlier Sunday.
Li Yueru had 14 points to lead Los Angeles (7-25). Rookie Rickea Jackson scored 13 on 5-for-16 shooting.
Howard opened the game with a 3-pointer and Charles followed with three straight baskets as the Dream jumped to a 9-0 lead. Odyssey Sims made a jumper for Los Angeles to end the run, but Charles had 14 points, and Howard scored nine by the end of the first quarter for a 25-12 advantage.
The duo combined for 32 points and 10 rebounds by halftime, and the Dream led 46-30.
Gray made a 3-pointer to begin the third quarter, Hillmon and Charles had back-to-back baskets, and the Dream scored the first seven points to push its lead to 23. The Sparks fell behind by 27 before a 10-2 run over the final 4:26 cut the deficit to 64-45 with one quarter to play.
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