SAN FRANCISCO — The Atlanta Dream go as Angel Reese goes.
It’s a point that veteran forward DeWanna Bonner has preached throughout the postseason. In Monday night’s Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, Reese proved it to be true, once again, dominating in the Dream’s 79-65 win over the Golden State Valkyries to even the best-of-seven series as it heads to Atlanta.
Dream coach Karl Smesko was adamant after Game 1’s loss that they had to do a better job at getting Reese touches. After going scoreless in the second half of Saturday’s loss and taking just two field-goal attempts, Reese exploded for 30 points. She also drained 9 of 11 free throws and grabbed 16 rebounds. Allisha Gray added 18 points.
The victory was the first WNBA Finals win in Dream history.
About halfway through the third quarter the game was locked at 42-42 before the Dream went on an 18-4 run. The Dream outscored the Valkyries 21-9 in the third quarter with Reese accounting for 9 of those points.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said pregame she expected her team to “punch first.” They narrowly controlled the first quarter, beating the Dream in the margins. But Atlanta remained pesty.
Neither team shot the ball well, both making only 34 percent from the field.
The Dream will have home-court advantage as the series heads to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Atlanta Dream, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA
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