Jordin Canada was 3 rebounds from a triple-double Monday night, finishing with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Atlanta Dream topped the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 at Chase Center.
Canada went 3-of-14 from the field and 2-of-6 from 3-point range in a team-high 35:40. She had 4 turnovers. All 5 of her made free throws came in the fourth quarter, when she went 5-of-6 at the line.
The win tied the WNBA Finals at 1-1 and was the first Finals win in franchise history.
Canada said the Dream feed off Angel Reese’s energy, and she watched Reese set the tone for the rest of the team on Monday.
“Honestly, I don’t think I played well,” Canada said. “I think I forced a lot of tough shots for myself. I feel like I was just over thinking a lot. Defensively, I felt like I was giving a lot of opportunities for them to get downhill. I wasn’t being as aggressive as I should have been, and then timely turnovers down the stretch.”
“So I feel like I could have played a lot better,” Canada continued. “The stats looks like I had a triple-double but to me, I know I could have played a lot better. But I’m just glad that we came together as a team. We were able to win. But next game, I’ll definitely be better offensively and defensively.”
Canada Still Controlled Large Stretches of Game 2
Canada’s first 3-pointer, off a Reese pass with 3:46 left in the first quarter, tied the game at 13. She played all 10 minutes of the second quarter and all 10 of the fourth.
Five of Canada’s 10 assists came in the second quarter. Two of those set up Allisha Gray 3-pointers in transition, and another found DeWanna Bonner for a 19-foot pull-up that put Atlanta ahead 39-37 at the half.
By the end of the night, Canada had assisted on 4 baskets each for Reese and Gray, plus one apiece for Rhyne Howard and Bonner. Atlanta finished with 17 assists.
With 3.1 seconds left in the third quarter, Canada stole a Tiffany Hayes pass. She pulled up from 32 feet and made it with 0.8 seconds remaining, sending the Dream to the fourth up 60-46.
Two of her turnovers came 28 seconds apart late in the fourth quarter, with Atlanta ahead by 17. Hayes and Gabby Williams came away with the steals, and the Valkyries got 2 points out of the pair.
With 2:14 left, the Dream challenged a shooting foul called on Canada. The call stood, and Hayes made 1 of 2 free throws.
Canada Has Delivered in Big Playoff Moments
In Game 1, Canada had 8 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds and hit a 13-foot jumper with 4:23 left, according to The Associated Press. Golden State won that game 68-64.
Earlier in these playoffs, Canada scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter as Atlanta finished a first-round sweep of the Washington Mystics.
Atlanta shot 21-of-62 from the field Monday, and Golden State went 21-of-61.
Dream coach Karl Smesko said the players took what the staff emphasized on film and made it work on the floor.
“I don’t have the answer to that,” Smesko said. “I do know both teams are defending at a really high level with a really high intensity. So you may rush your shot. They are closing out hard. Could be a lot of factors. Maybe just both teams are settling in.”
“But we’ll keep track of how we’re generating good shots, and as long as we are generating good shots, we feel good about it,” Smesko added. “We know we have good shooters. We know we have good attackers. And we know we can get extra possessions if we are doing the things that we need to do. So we’ll go back to Atlanta and hopefully — and we’ll have to; we’ll have to play even better, and our team realizes that. We know how good Golden State is.”
Canada was called for 3 fouls and had 1 steal in the win.
Atlanta is 6-1 in the postseason heading into Game 3 on Wednesday at State Farm Arena.