Dream use third-quarter surge to put away Valkyries

Allisha Gray scored 12 of her 13 points in a third-quarter runaway as the Atlanta Dream used balanced scoring and a suffocating defense to continue a successful road trip with a 79-63 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday night.

Rhyne Howard (14), Brionna Jones (13), Naz Hillmon (12) and Te-Hina Paopao (10) also scored in double figures for the Dream, who retained second place in the WNBA standings with a fourth win in five contests on a lengthy six-game trip.

Coming off a 2-0 trip and seeking a fifth straight win overall in pursuit of a playoff berth in their inaugural season, the Valkyries managed to play the Dream even at 25-all through the first 20 minutes before the visitors turned Gray loose and tightened the defensive screws even more in the third period.

A three-point play by Cecilia Zandalasini had Golden State within 40-39 with 4:29 remaining in the quarter before Gray drilled a second three-pointer in consecutive possessions to ignite a 13-3 burst that opened a 53-42 advantage by quarter's end.

Howard and Maya Caldwell added three-pointers early in the fourth quarter as the Dream extended their lead to 17 points and never looked back en route to a second win in three games against the Valkyries this season.

Jones also found time for a game-high nine rebounds and Howard for a game-high six assists for the Dream, who were coming off a two-point loss to the Seattle Storm in the WNBA's first-ever game in Canada on Friday.

Atlanta won despite shooting just 41.2% from the field. The Dream made only nine of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc, but that was two more than Golden State converted in 29 attempts.

The Valkyries shot just 35% overall en route to their second-lowest point total of the season. Golden State was also dominated on the boards to the tune of 38-27.

Veronica Burton paced Golden State with 16 points and five assists. Zandalasini chipped in with 11 points as part of a starting lineup in which no Valkyries player made half her shots.