COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — The Sparks’ path to the postseason likely requires them to win multiple games against some of the WNBA’s best teams over the next 10 days.

They came up short in their first try.

Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Brionna Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks, 86-75, on Wednesday night.

The win moved Atlanta (27-14) into sole possession of second place in the WNBA standings, while the Sparks (19-21) dropped 1½ games behind the idle Indiana Fever (21-20) for the league’s eighth and final playoff berth.

Atlanta, which has won five of its last six games, moved a half-game ahead of Las Vegas (26-14) and Phoenix (26-14) with three regular-season games remaining.

The Sparks play at the Dream again o

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