Tiffany Hayes scored 28 points and Renee Montgomery added 16 to pace the Atlanta Dream to an 88-78 WNBA victory in front of a rowdy Kids Day crowd at State Farm Arena.

HIGHLIGHTS

BOX SCORE

Hayes did damage early with 18 first-half points while Montgomery, who added a game-high nine assists, scored 11 in the second. Three of Montgomery’s four 3-pointers came after halftime while helping the Dream stretch their lead early in the fourth quarter. Her third and fourth 3-pointers lifted the Dream to their largest lead at 76-65 with 6:08 to play, capping a 9-2 run to take command.

After 26 combined lead changes and ties, the Dream never looked back, allowing Indiana within eight but never closer.

“We were down one at half and we were in a pretty good offensive flow, but we weren’t solid or strong on the defensive end and we kept putting [the Dream] at the free throw line. They were a hungry team. They punished us once we gave them some momentum.”

The Dream (2-5) snapped a five-game losing skid and Indiana (4-5) fell below .500 for the first time this season. Atlanta won its third straight against Indiana since last season and kept the Fever winless in Atlanta since 2015.

Free throws by Monique Billings lifted the Dream to a one-point lead with 1:49 left in the third and Montgomery’s 3-pointer gave Atlanta a four-point lead, 61-57, for its largest margin through three quarters. The Dream led 63-59 headed to the final period and Brittany Sykes drove for a baseline layup and six-point lead to open the fourth quarter. Atlanta never trailed again.

Candice Dupree, in her 14th WNBA season led Indiana with 19 points and passed Sue Bird (6,154) into seventh place on the league’s career scoring list. Now with 6,168 career points, an 18-foot jumper with 3:38 left in the first quarter lifted her past Bird. Dupree is 95 points shy of Lisa Leslie (6,263) who is sixth.

Kelsey Mitchell had 16 points for the Fever and rookie center Teaira McCowan, making her first pro start, recorded the first double-double of her career with season-highs of 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. Her 15 boards tied an Indiana rookie record set in 2002 by Tamika Catchings.

On McCowan, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s WNBA Draft, Chatman added, “Those blocks are wonderful, but we also look at the shots she alters. Fans love the blocks, but coaches love all the ones she alters. She is learning the pace of the game. She held her own and she’ll continue to get better.”

McCowan replaced injured veteran Natalie Achonwa in the Indiana lineup. Achonwa, nursing a left calf strain, missed her first game since 2016 to end what was the ninth-longest consecutive games streak (77) in Fever history.

Atlanta led 45-44 at intermission after the clubs played through seven lead changes and 10 ties in the first 20 minutes. The largest first-half lead for either team was Indiana’s 6-0 start in the game’s first 90 seconds.

Having begun a seven-game stretch with six games on the road, Indiana continues a three-game road swing at Chicago and Seattle, Friday and Sunday, respectively.