Dream and Valkyries tied 2-2 as turnovers and bench play loom large in WNBA Finals Game 5

The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries are tied 2-2 in the WNBA Finals, and Game 5 tips tonight at Chase Center (5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. EDT, USA and Peacock). The winner will be one win from a championship.

The series has swung hard in both directions. Golden State won Games 1 and 4 by four and five points. Atlanta won Games 2 and 3 by 14 and 26. Game 4 was the Valkyries’ kind of night. They led by as many as 16 and went into halftime up 42-26 behind a 26-point second quarter. They won 67-62 while shooting 36.1 percent and going 4-for-25 from three, because they forced 18 turnovers while committing nine and outscored Atlanta 38-28 in the paint.

Turnovers are the first thing to watch tonight. Jordin Canada pointed to them as the common thread in Atlanta’s two losses. “We did not put a lot of energy. They outworked us, out hustled us,” she said. “We can’t start that way, especially in the finals. Coach talked about whoever wins the possessions wins the game.” Angel Reese, who came in averaging 21.7 points in the Finals, was held to eight on 2-of-12 shooting with six turnovers. Kiah Stokes had 16 rebounds and three blocks, and she holds the Finals record with 14 blocks. Rhyne Howard led all scorers with 19.

The second thing to watch is the bench. We asked Dream head coach Karl Smesko about his rotation, with foul trouble and players looking tired. In Game 4, Howard, Canada, Naz Hillmon and Reese each played between 34 and 37 minutes. Allisha Gray and Isobel Borlase each picked up five fouls in about 22 minutes. Te-Hina Paopao did not play, and Madina Okot got 46 seconds. Smesko didn’t tip a change. “That’s kind of a game-to-game thing, depending on flow, foul trouble, you know, other things,” he said. “They’re ready to step in if their number gets called.”

Golden State’s rotation is the other question. Head coach Natalie Nakase changed her starting five for Game 4, putting Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes in with Stokes, Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton. “We have an egoless team,” she said. Janelle Salaün, the unanimous Sixth Player of the Year, played just 2:34, while Cecilia Zandalasini came off the bench for 10 points and a +20 rating in 18 minutes. The Valkyries still lead the playoffs in bench scoring at 30.0 points per game, to Atlanta’s 15.4. Nakase did not say whether the same group starts tonight.

The Valkyries aren’t treating this as a different kind of game. “We like things that are hard for some reason,” Nakase said. “We love challenges.” Williams is averaging 20.8 points this postseason, fourth in the league, and Hayes, who spent 10 seasons in Atlanta, is five assists from 100 in the playoffs.

Golden State has sold out 51 straight home games, and it swept the regular-season series 3-0. Game 5 tips at 8 p.m. EDT.