Before Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase promised it would her team's best fight.
Instead, the Atlanta Dream blew out the Valkyries, 97-71, behind a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double from Angel Reese at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The Dream lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Saturday, Oct. 24.
"Sometimes promises aren't kept," Nakase said postgame. "(It's not that) they don't want it and they don't want to fight. It's just sometimes, it's like how do we make sure we can do it all together? There's sometimes individual punches and some people with great spurts and some people with great energy.
"But it's like how can we do it all together, boom, punch together?"
Game 3 wasn't a promising outing for Golden State, led by Gabby Williams' 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Tiffany Hayes added 14 points and Janelle Salaün 13 points. Cecilia Zandalasini added 13 points, tying her career playoff high for 3s made with four. It wasn't enough.
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"We were a bit undisciplined," Williams said.
Hayes echoed the sentiment: "This game they wanted it more than us. That's not who we are, that's not who we've been and that's not how we got here. I think we got to get a little bit more that (discipline) in our tank."
Nakase's message to the team after the game: It's still a long series. The Valkyries will look inward following back-to-back losses, trailing in a series for the first time this postseason.
The most glaring issue was the lack of energy, not just offensive production. The Valkyries as a team were flat out punked. They were bullied in the paint as Atlanta outscored Golden State, 44-20. The Dream are also dominating in transition, up 43-11 in fast break scenarios in the series.
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"They did play as hard as they could," Nakase said of her team. "I think there was a lot of emptying the tank mentality. I thought the third quarter was another level. They came out the gates really, really hard. Unfortunately, if you turn the ball over, Atlanta's going to make you pay."
Golden State has turned the ball over often all series long. In Game 3 they committed 17 turnovers, conceding 22 points.
Their identity is defense. Three players were named to the 2026 WNBA all-defensive team: Kiah Stokes, Veronica Burton and Williams. Now, the Valkyries have to find some spark on offense.
In three consecutive games now, Golden State has been held to 72 points or less while shooting 35% or less on field goals. By comparison, they've averaged nearly 82 points per game during the postseason.
"Sometimes shots don't fall. We don't like to make it about offense. They scored 97 points. We have no chance (if they continue that)," Williams said. "We just have to back to our defense and that will get our offense going."
If anything is going to change for Golden State as they prep for Game 4, it's going to have to come at the offensive end. The Valkyries have got to find ways to create easy, high-percentage scoring opportunities. Most importantly, they have to protect the ball.
"We got really loose with the ball. Very uncharacteristic of us. We got to get back to who we are," Hayes said. "If they bring pressure, we have to stay together (and) not get flustered and just giving the ball up."
The real task is determining who else can be a consistent scorer for Golden State. If Williams has a cold shooting night, the Valkyries are forced to find a consistent secondary scorer to pace the team. They believe in strength in numbers, so anyone is could step up at any point.
Game 4 of the 2026 WNBA Finals tips off on Saturday, Oct. 24 at State Farm Arena (1 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock). The Dream lead the series 2-1. Teams up 2-1 in all-time Finals (in a best-of-five-or-more series) are 9-4 in the series all time.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dream bullied Valkyries in Game 3. How does Golden State respond?