Natalie Nakase Explains Valkyries' Late-Game Execution in Game 2 Win Over Aces

Jackie Young went to the free-throw line with 5.9 seconds left Wednesday night, Las Vegas down 83-80. Golden State's coaches had already sent a big into the game.

Young made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose. Chelsea Gray chased down the miss and went up under the rim. Kiah Stokes blocked it, Veronica Burton secured the loose ball at the buzzer, and the Golden State Valkyries won 83-81 to go up 2-0 in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said Golden State did not want to send Las Vegas back to the line.

"Credit to Landon and my staff — they saw the miss coming, and we subbed in a big to make sure we had bodies there," Nakase said. "Jackie missed on the right side, where they knew they would get the rebound, so credit to [Aminata Gueye] for doing a fantastic job. Kiah closed it by blocking Chels, and KT went straight up without fouling because we didn't want to put them back on the line."

"A lot of people might freak out, but we stayed composed and disciplined, defended without fouling, and V secured it," Nakase continued. "Everyone did an amazing job executing what we had prepared on the defensive end."

Stokes finished with seven rebounds and the only Golden State block of the game. She had 14 rebounds and four blocks in Game 1 on Sunday.

Nakase spent 2022 through 2024 as the first assistant coach for Las Vegas under Aces coach Becky Hammon. The Aces won the WNBA title in 2022 and 2023.

Earlier in the final minute, Burton hit a 3-pointer with 41.5 seconds left that put Golden State ahead 79-76. Las Vegas got within 79-78 on two Gray free throws with 9.2 seconds to go.

From there, Golden State made four free throws, including two by Burton. The Aces made two.

Nakase said Golden State planned to foul up three in Game 2 and rely on its free-throw shooting, which Kayla Thornton and Burton handled.

"All the coaches decided we'd lean the other way and foul because players like [Jackie] and Chelsea can make big threes at the end," Nakase explained. "We want to be more in control, so now we foul and trust our free-throw shooters. We make sure we substitute at the right time and have timeouts available for those substitution patterns. Everything has been calculated and adjusted, and our players are doing it with so much composure. It's really good to see."

Golden State made 25 of its 27 free throws. Thornton went 7-of-7 and scored 16 points, and Burton went 5-of-6.

Burton shot 1-of-3 from the field in Game 2, and the 3 was the only make. She sat for the final 17-plus minutes of Game 1 after going to the bench at the 7:29 mark of the third quarter, and she finished that game with four points on 1-of-6 shooting.

The 3 came less than a minute after Las Vegas had its only lead, 76-74 with 1:36 left. Gabby Williams tied it with a 13-foot jumper, and Las Vegas came away empty on a shot-clock violation.

Nakase has more than one closer to choose from.

"It's so valuable to have so many people who can score on any given night," Nakase said. "The ability for our closing group — it doesn't matter who scores as long as we're finding each other and we're getting quality looks."

Las Vegas trailed 66-55 entering the fourth quarter. The Aces took the lead with an 8-0 run that included a Dana Evans 3-pointer and Gray's tying 3 at the 2:10 mark.

The Valkyries expected that run, Burton said.

"Just stay composed," Burton said. "They're defending champs for a reason, and we knew they were going to go on a run. To get that win, we had to stay composed and not panic. We had to stick to our guns and do what we know, which is defense, and get buckets down the stretch. I think we did a really good job of not panicking."

Golden State's first-round win over the Dallas Wings was the franchise's first postseason series victory. Las Vegas won all three regular-season meetings between the teams.

Burton is not giving the Aces any ideas.

"At the end of the day, we've got to take care of business," Burton explained. "Every game we approach as a do-or-die situation. That's the reality of it. We are going to approach the next game as such."

"Obviously, their backs are against the wall. They're the reigning champs," Burton noted. "They have experience, so it's not going to be easy. It's going to be a battle, and we're going to approach it as such."

Nakase said the team would fly to Las Vegas on Thursday morning. Game 3 tips off Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET.