Riquna Williams, Nneka Ogwumike help Sparks beat Dream in OT

Riquna Williams scored 23 points, making five of 12 three-pointers, and Nneka Ogwumike finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Atlanta Dream 76-71 in overtime on Sunday.

Kalani Brown, the No. 7 overall pick in April’s draft, tied her season-high with 12 points and Chelsea Gray contributed 10 points and nine assists for the Sparks (9-7), who have won five of their last six games.

Atlanta used a 9-2 run to close the fourth quarter and open overtime to take a 67-64 lead with three minutes to play. Elizabeth Williams made one of two free throws to open the scoring in overtime and give the Dream their first lead since late in the first half before Tiffany Hayes made a short floater to cap the spurt.

Williams made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Sparks a three-point lead with 1:29 left and they never relinquished the lead. Her steal with 31.3 seconds left, and Gray’s pull-up jumper 20 seconds later, sealed it for Los Angeles.

The Sparks played without Candace Parker (ankle), Alana Beard (hamstring), Maria Vadeeva (knee) and Alexis Jones (knee).

Hayes led the Dream with 24 points, including a driving layup with a second left in regulation that forced OT. Alex Bentley scored 12 points and Monique Billings added nine points and a career-best 16 rebounds.

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The Dream (5-11) made just two of 19 (10.5%) shots from three-point range. Atlanta is still without five-time All-Star forward Angel McCoughtry, who tore a knee ligament late season and could miss all of the 2019 season.

The Sparks return to play on Thursday when they play host to the Dallas Wings in a game scheduled for 12:30 p.m.