Dream Beat Valkyries by 26 in Game 3, Move Two Wins From WNBA Title

The Atlanta Dream never trailed Wednesday night at State Farm Arena. Atlanta controlled Game 3 of the WNBA Finals from the opening tip and pulled away in the second half for a 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries. The Dream now lead the series 2-1.

Angel Reese led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 7-of-12 from the field, went a perfect 5-of-5 at the line, and added three assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Ten of her boards came on the defensive end, and Atlanta’s 44-20 edge in paint points told the story of who owned the inside.

Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and was a problem on defense all night, finishing with five steals. She got to the line 10 times and made seven. Naz Hillmon added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, and the Dream were plus-17 in her minutes.

Jordin Canada ran the show with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Allisha Gray chipped in eight points and six assists as Atlanta finished with 26 assists on 34 made field goals.

Isobel Borlase gave the Dream a lift off the bench with 12 points and five rebounds, and her plus-21 was the best on the floor. DeWanna Bonner added seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in 17 minutes. Brionna Jones did not play due to a left leg injury.

The first half stayed close. Atlanta opened with a 23-15 first quarter, but Golden State won the second 25-23 to cut it to 46-40 at the break. The second half belonged to the Dream. Atlanta won the third quarter 25-17 and the fourth 26-14, outscoring the Valkyries 51-31 after halftime. The lead peaked at 26 at the final buzzer. Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase was called for a technical foul with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ball security made the difference. The Valkyries turned it over 17 times, and Atlanta turned those mistakes into 22 points. The Dream gave it away only 10 times, and Golden State scored just seven points off them. Atlanta also won the fast break 13-5.

The Dream shot 49.3 percent from the field. Golden State shot 34.8 percent, with both teams taking 69 shots. Atlanta also got to the line 29 times to Golden State’s 17.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points and a postseason career-high eight assists, but she needed 18 shots to get there, going 5-of-18. Tiffany Hayes scored 14 off the bench. Cecilia Zandalasini (4-of-6 from three) and Janelle Salaün (5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from deep) each added 13. Kiah Stokes had 11 rebounds and three blocks. The Valkyries got 38 points from their bench, but the starters struggled to keep pace.

Nakase put the loss on her own shoulders afterward.

“Our fight has never not been there. I feel like this is just a long series. We’ve been down before,” Nakase said. “It’s on my shoulders. I got to figure out maybe a couple of different schemes that could be a little bit more aggressive. I could be a little bit more clear on how I could make sure we’re fighting with the right units. So, yeah, this is on me.”

She also pointed to Salaün as a bright spot. “That’s Ja, the killer. It’s the confidence,” Nakase said. “I liked her fight, too, on the defensive end. I thought she was in good spots. I thought she was boarding. I thought she was being really physical. She was a nice little spark for us for sure.”

Nakase believes her team will respond. “What’s good is that we usually come back even tighter,” she said. “This is where we lean on each other more rather than split.”

Hayes didn’t hold back on what went wrong.

“It was very uncharacteristic of us,” Hayes said. “That’s the series for a reason. We can adjust, but we have to do it now, and we have to stay together and do it.”

Asked what needs to improve before Game 4, Hayes kept it simple. “Our discipline and our fight. I think in this game, they wanted it more than us, and that’s not who we are. That’s not who we’ve been, and that’s not how we got here.”

Williams said the Valkyries were “a bit undisciplined on defense” and will head straight to the film. “First and foremost, rest and recover, and then back to the film so we can adjust and have a good day of practice, reconnect, regroup, and just get ready for Saturday.”

Game 4 is Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at State Farm Arena, airing on NBC and Peacock. Atlanta can move within one win of the championship with another home win.