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Jul 31, 2010 - 6:40 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Indiana (16-8) at Atlanta (17-9), 3:00 p.m. EDT

Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn does not like the way her team is dealing with being in first place. She might not have to worry about that after their next game.

With the Eastern Conference lead up for grabs Sunday at Philips Arena, the defending conference champion Fever look to bounce back from a tough loss as it faces an Atlanta Dream club trying to win its fourth in a row.

Looking to extend its season-high winning streak to six, Indiana (16-8) was outscored 21-13 in the fourth quarter of Friday's 77-73 home loss to Washington. The Fever were also outrebounded 44-21 - the worst margin in franchise history.

"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement," Dunn told the Fever's official website. "I really thought we would play, board-wise, with a greater sense of urgency. We're certainly not handling being in the lead very well."

Indiana, which is percentage points ahead of Atlanta (17-9), will look for a better effort on the boards, but the Dream lead the league in rebounding with 40.1 per game.

The Fever have defeated Atlanta twice at home this season - most recently 89-70 on July 16 - but had a poor fourth-quarter effort in their only visit to Philips Arena in 2010, a 66-62 loss on May 16. Indiana was outscored 13-4 in the final 10 minutes of that contest, converting just one field goal until Katie Douglas' layup with five seconds left.

Center Erika DeSouza, who led the Dream with 14 points and 11 rebounds in that contest, posted her 13th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 boards in Friday's 94-62 victory at Connecticut. Atlanta used a 25-0 run that bridged halftime to hand the Sun the franchise's most lopsided home loss.

"I think it was just one of those nights," said Dream coach Marynell Meadors, whose team has won three in a row following a season-high four-game skid. "You don't beat a team like Connecticut like that. ... We came in thinking it was going to be a battle and it would come down to whoever had the ball at the end of the game to win it."

Dream forward Angel McCoughtry, who is third in the league with 21.1 points per game, is averaging 19.7 versus Indiana this season.

Fever forward Tamika Catchings had 23 points, 11 rebounds and season high-tying six steals in the July 16 victory that trimmed Atlanta's conference lead to one game.