The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena to take a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.
Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting, adding 3 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points. Naz Hillmon finished with 15 on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
The 97 points set a Dream record for a WNBA Finals game, according to the league’s postgame notes. Five Atlanta players reached double figures. The Dream shot 49.3% from the field, and no team had shot better than 35% in a game in the series before Wednesday.
Game 3 was originally scheduled for Thursday at Gateway Center Arena, the Dream’s 3,500-seat regular home. The league moved it up a day and across town to State Farm Arena, and the crowd of 17,099 was a sellout.
Dream Grab Control Early
Golden State missed its first eight shots. Aminata Gueye scored the Valkyries’ first field goal with 4:38 left in the first quarter, after Atlanta opened on a 9-1 run.
Kiah Stokes blocked 3 shots in the quarter, two of them on Reese drives during the same possession. The Valkyries scored 7 straight points to get within 9-8 and later trailed only 13-10.
Hillmon then hit 3-pointers on back-to-back Atlanta trips, Reese added one with 40 seconds left, and the Dream led 23-15 after one.
Janelle Salaün, the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year, scored 11 points in the second quarter on 3-of-4 shooting from deep. Golden State won the quarter 25-23.
Howard had 3 steals in a span of 3:32 during it, and Atlanta’s lead reached 12 at 35-23 before the Dream settled for a 46-40 halftime edge. Reese had 15 points at the break.
Atlanta Answers Golden State’s Third-Quarter Push
The Valkyries opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run. Cecilia Zandalasini’s second 3-pointer of the half tied the game at 48 with 8:52 left, and her free throw tied it again at 49.
Dream coach Karl Smesko was close to calling a timeout during that stretch.
“I’m most proud of the second half because the first few possessions were a little sloppy,” Smesko said. “I was really close to using a timeout, but they pulled together on their own and got it worked out, cleaned it up themselves. They knew what mistakes they were making and they huddled up and then they start making plays and it started — the crowd started getting behind it, and it’s one play after another.”
“So, excited for how a lot of our players played today,” Smesko continued. “And also we have the realization that we’re only halfway home. Like, this is two wins — you have to get four. And this is a great day. Thank everybody in Atlanta for all the support. It’s meant the world, and we’re going to need it going forward.”
Atlanta scored the next 8 points. Howard started it with a reverse layup, and Reese had 4 of the 8, the last on a fast-break layup with 5:25 left.
Tiffany Hayes got Golden State within 59-55, and the Dream closed the quarter on a 12-2 run for a 71-57 lead. DeWanna Bonner scored 5 of those 12 on a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase picked up a technical foul with 48 seconds left in the third.
Dream Punish Valkyries Turnovers Again
Golden State committed 17 turnovers, and Atlanta turned them into 22 points. The Valkyries scored 7 points off 10 Dream turnovers.
Atlanta also won the paint 44-20 and outscored Golden State 13-5 in fast-break points.
Turnovers were the story of Game 2 as well, when the Valkyries gave it away 19 times and Veronica Burton said the problem started with her.
Howard had 5 steals Wednesday after setting a Finals record with 6 on Monday. She is the first player in WNBA history with 5 or more steals in consecutive Finals games, according to the league.
Reese had a message for the crowd heading into Saturday: run it back.
“We had two rough games, and we still were able to pull one out last game,” Reese said. “I was not really shooting great, but I knew it was coming, especially back home when you feel the environment. They’re cheering every single possession defensively, and then it just led to offense. So the crowd, I think, really poured into us.”
“It feels good to be home on your own court, and you’re seeing the basket that you shoot on every single day,” Reese continued. “I’m really happy with this group. Everybody contributed from top to bottom, just being able to just be there and make shots at the right time. And when you can shoot, what, 49%? You win games.”
Dream Pull Away for Record Finals Night
Atlanta’s lead reached 20 on two Howard free throws with 6:47 left and hit 26 in the final minute.
Isobel Borlase scored 12 points off the bench, a career playoff high, and Jordin Canada had 10 points and 8 assists.
Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and had a career playoff-high 8 assists. Hayes scored 14 off the bench. Zandalasini and Salaün each finished with 13, and Stokes had 2 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
The Valkyries shot 34.8%.
Golden State allowed 97 points two days after giving up 79 in Game 2. Williams said the Valkyries were a bit undisciplined on defense and would go back to the video before adjusting.
“I think sometimes shots don’t fall,” Williams said. “We know we don’t want to make it about offense. They scored 95 points, 97. We have no chance. We have to just go back to our defense, and that will get our offense going.”
Atlanta again played without center Brionna Jones, who has been out since Aug. 13 with a left leg injury and was ruled out for the season in September.
The Dream evened the series Monday with a 79-65 win at Chase Center for the franchise’s first Finals victory. Golden State won Game 1 68-64.
Teams leading 2-1 in a WNBA Finals series of best-of-five or longer have won 9 of 13, according to the league. Game 4 is Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena on NBC.