Hayes scores 34 but Dream drops 9th in a row

Atlanta Dream guard Tiffany Hayes (right). AJC file photo.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Atlanta Dream guard Tiffany Hayes (right). AJC file photo.

Erica Wheeler had 19 points and seven assists and the Indiana Fever beat the Dream 87-82 on Saturday to hand Atlanta its ninth consecutive loss.

Tiffany Hayes led the Dream (5-19) with a career-high 34 points. The Dream made a season-high 12 3-pointers but were outscored 21-12 at the free-throw line and committed 15 turnovers.

Brittney Sykes hit a 3-pointer to give the Dream a nine-point lead with three minutes left in the third quarter, but the Fever (9-16) scored 22 of the next 30 points to make it 71-66 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Dream, which came in shooting a WNBA-worst 36.3% from the field this season, shot 51.1% through the first three quarters before making just 6 of 20 from the field in the fourth. The Dream shot 43.9% overall, snapping a streak of eight consecutive games shooting less than 40%.

The Dream is winless since beating the Minnesota Lynx 60-53 on July 12 and has lost six in a row on the road.