ATLANTA - Despite head coach Natalie Nakase's pleas for her team to find their fight again, the Golden State Valkyries looked out of sorts in their 97-71 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night.
Atlanta takes a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, with Game 4 of the best-of-seven series on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
This time in a sea of baby blue and a sold out crowd at State Farm Arena, the Valkyries were just as sloppy as they were in Game 2 at Chase Center. At no point did the Valkyries lead, only tying the game twice in the third quarter.
The Dream were generating the kind of offense that secured a Game 2 win, as they scored 22 points off 17 turnovers.
Angel Reese was largely getting to her spots again, scoring a double-double in her third consecutive game. She had 15 points at the half and 21 points overall on 7-of-12 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 12 rebounds.
Janelle Salaün, who had very limited minutes for a majority of this postseason, gave the offense the type of boost she had all season as the Sixth Player of the Year. It was just what Golden State needed to keep pace offensively.
She went 3-for-4 from 3 and had 11 points in the first half, keeping the Valkyries within six headed into the break. With Cecilia Zandalasini getting hot from 3 as well, the Valkyries shot better from the field in Game 3 than they did in the previous two games.
But that shift wasn't enough. The Dream accomplished their primary goal to force Gabby Williams into uncomfortable shot decisions, preventing her from taking over. She had a team-high 14 points, shooting 5-of-18 from the field.
Williams' inefficient scoring has been a trend all series and became an issue in Game 3. The Dream had success again clogging the paint and preventing Valkyries scorers from driving to the rim. Williams, then, had to settle for difficult midrange shots that she couldn't consistently convert.
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Valkyries look lost as Dream run away to gain 2-1 WNBA Finals lead in Atlanta.