Angel Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream used an 18-4 run to close the third quarter to beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 on Monday night at Chase Center, evening the WNBA Finals at 1-1.
It was the first WNBA Finals win in Dream franchise history.
Reese shot 10 of 16 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free throw line, adding three assists, two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes. She became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a 30-point, 15-rebound double-double in a playoff game. She is one of just six players to post at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game, and one of three to do it in the Finals.
Two days after a Game 1 loss in which she took only two shots in the second half, Reese set the tone from the opening tip.
“I let my team down last game, not really contributing as much as I could in the second half, and not even just about scoring,” Reese said. “My screen quality, me hustling and running to get rebounds, and just doing the things that they know me to do. So I just wanted to make sure I came out tonight and left my mark and did whatever I could to get the win, and I think I did that tonight.”
Allisha Gray added 18 points and was a game-high plus-20. Jordin Canada finished with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and DeWanna Bonner scored nine points with four steals off the bench.
Atlanta’s defense was the difference. The Dream forced 19 Golden State turnovers and turned them into 24 points. Rhyne Howard broke the WNBA Finals record with six steals, and Atlanta finished with 14 as a team and outscored the Valkyries 19-0 in fast-break points.
“Boy, did she have an impact on the defensive side of the ball today,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said of Howard, who battled early foul trouble and scored five points. “Deflections, steals, getting us out in transition, making good decisions with the ball. She came up huge for us despite the foul trouble.”
The game turned midway through the third quarter. Kaitlyn Chen’s bank shot tied it 42-42 with 5:40 left in the period, but Golden State scored just four more points the rest of the quarter. Reese scored nine points in the third, going 5 of 5 from the line, and Atlanta made all 12 of its free throws in the period while the Valkyries did not attempt one. Canada capped the run with a 32-foot pullup three-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Dream a 60-46 lead.
Smesko said he could tell what kind of night Reese would have before the game started.
“The first person I made eye contact with was Angel, and I’m like, oh, I like this look,” Smesko said. “One thing that we try to do is give her just a couple more breaks during the game so that she could keep that intensity going throughout the entire game, and she was just fantastic on both ends of the floor.”
Canada said Reese made it clear what she wanted.
“Angel is such a generational talent. You can just see that she wants it really bad,” Canada said. “She was talking to us throughout the whole game, keeping us confident. And at one point, she was like, ‘I need the ball. I need the ball.’ And we gave her the ball, and she went to work.”
Golden State led 21-18 after the first quarter behind two three-pointers from Kaila Charles. Gabby Williams went 7 of 7 from the free throw line in the second quarter, and the Valkyries led by as many as six. Gray answered with two running three-pointers, and Bonner hit a pullup jumper with 2.5 seconds left in the half to give Atlanta a 39-37 lead at the break.
The Dream stretched the lead to 21 on two Canada free throws with 6:06 to play, and Golden State never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Valkyries guard Veronica Burton said the turnovers decided the game.
“I genuinely believe that dictated the entire game,” Burton said. “They got more looks than we did, and then they out-hustled us on some plays. They made more energy plays, and that’s what we hang our hats on. So it can’t happen, especially not in the Finals.”
Burton finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Williams and Tiffany Hayes led Golden State with 14 points each, with Williams going 3 of 15 from the field. Kiah Stokes had 11 rebounds and four blocks.
Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase credited Atlanta’s effort and put part of the loss on herself.
“The hustle is the turnovers,” Nakase said. “In order for you to get turnovers, they have to out-hustle you to create the turnovers. I need to listen within the next 48 hours to see how did I not deliver my message about our game plan, our fight, our physicality.”
Both teams struggled from the field for the second straight game. Atlanta shot 33.9% and Golden State shot 34.4%, with each team making 7 three-pointers. The Dream made 30 of 35 free throws, compared to 16 of 19 for the Valkyries, and outrebounded Golden State 36-32.
Asked how the Valkyries could keep Atlanta off the line in Game 3, Stokes kept it simple.
“Yeah, don’t foul,” Stokes said. “We can’t control what the refs call, but that’s on us. We just can’t be reaching and getting really dumb fouls.”
Nakase said Williams’ shots were there and just didn’t fall.
“I thought her looks were the same as usual. She just missed,” Nakase said. “Nights are going to happen. I wish I could say she’s going to shoot 100% every night. That just isn’t the case.”
The series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at State Farm Arena. Reese said Monday’s win was only the beginning.
“I think it’s just a start,” Reese said. “Throughout the entire year, we just continue to stick together and know who we are. We have the city behind us. This is just the next step of who Atlanta is and who Atlanta’s going to continue to be for the next couple of years.”
Nakase said her team will have to tighten up on the road.
“This is what the Finals is about. This is what playoffs is about. It’s going to get sticky,” Nakase said. “It’s how do we get really connected even more after losses to make sure we’re on the same game plan in Game 3.”
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