Leading the league in 3-point shooting, the long ball was key for the Lynx on Wednesday afternoon.

It just wasn’t who you’d expect to provide the late long-distance spark.

Natisha Hiedeman scored 16 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lynx rallied to beat Atlanta 86-79 at Target Center to end a two-game slide.

“It was a gritty, gritty win,” said Kayla McBride, who led the Lynx with 30 points.

Hiedeman made three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes, a quarter she acknowledged was her best with the Lynx. The guard was 7 for 41 (17.1%) from outside the arc entering the game.

“Everything was just really going my way. My teammates were finding the ball, we were just playing together,” she said. “(Today) it was my (day), and I was just super-excited and happy to see the ball go through.”

A 10-0 Atlanta run late in the third quarter led to a 60-56 Dream advantage entering the final 10 minutes, but Hiedeman and Dorka Juhász combined for Minnesota’s first 12 fourth-quarter points to tie the game with 6:38 left.

Hiedeman’s third 3-pointer gave Minnesota a 73-72 lead midway through the fourth. She added a jumper and scored on a drive for an 81-74 lead with 1:26 to go, evoking another shriek of excitement from a Camp Day crowd of 15,013, many of whom were shrilling, Lynx towel giveaway-waving youth clad in a spectrum of T-shirts representing park and rec and other groups.

Running the offense, Hiedeman also finished with four second-half assists.

“What she did today is what we envisioned her being able to do, not that she’s got to score 18,” said coach Cheryl Reeve. “… What I appreciate is how locked in she was to play-calling, her playmaking, getting easier shots for others. The first half of the season a lot of conversations about what we’re looking for, and this game I thought she grabbed hold of that.”

Atlanta scored five of the next six points to get within three points, but McBride scored on a scoop while getting knocked down with 19 seconds left, pushing the Lynx lead back to five.

McBride added four 3-pointers. She’ll participate in the 3-point contest Friday as part of All-Star Weekend. McBride is hitting 42.7% of her shots from deep, third-most in the WNBA among players with at least 80 attempts.

For the fifth straight game, the Lynx played without leading scorer Napheesa Collier who is out with plantar fasciitis in her left foot but plans to play for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics.

Alanna Smith, who’ll play for Australia in the Olympics, had 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists (five in the fourth quarter) and was a plus-8 in the deflection battle. Courtney Williams had eight points and nine assists.

Canadian Olympian Bridget Carleton uncharacteristically struggled from deep, going 3 for 11 to finish with nine points but made some crucial defensive stops late.

At 17-8, Minnesota heads into the nearly monthlong Olympic break leading the Western Conference and in third place overall. Its next game is Aug. 15 against Washington at Target Center.

“I think we’re doing what we think we’re capable of doing, but we also know it’s very fragile,” Reeve said. “To this point we’ve had our sights set on being one of the top teams, top rung if you will, and we’ve done that. Now, we have to see if we can improve and see if we can make it a really beautiful season.”

“It’s time for a break. We’re pretty beat up because this league is so hard to get wins in,” McBride said. “We want to be able to hit the ground running. … We want to be ready like we were at the beginning of the season. We want to be fresh and ready to go because those last 15 games, those are going to be playoff games for us.”

Atlanta (7-17) has lost eight straight and 11 of 12.