Valkyries Beat Dream 67-62 to Even WNBA Finals at 2-2

The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 67-62 on Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena to tie the WNBA Finals at two games apiece.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 17 points. Kiah Stokes had 16 rebounds and 3 blocks, and the Valkyries forced 18 Atlanta turnovers.

Saturday’s result guarantees a Game 6, the first in WNBA Finals history. The league moved the Finals to a best-of-seven format last year, and the Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury in four games.

Golden State had dropped Games 2 and 3 by a combined 40 points, including a 97-71 loss on Wednesday in the same building.

Stokes did not want Atlanta landing the first blow again.

“We just really emphasized coming out strong and just setting the tone from the jump,” Stokes said. “We just wanted to make sure nothing was easy for Atlanta. I think the last couple games, we kind of allowed them to punch first. We just wanted to make that effort to just make sure that we were the aggressors from the start.”

A 12-0 run in the first quarter put the Valkyries ahead 16-11 after one, according to the league’s postgame notes. They followed with a 22-7 run in the second.

Golden State took a 42-26 lead into halftime. The 16-point margin was its largest of the series.

Atlanta committed 14 turnovers in the first half, which tied the Finals record for any half. The Dream scored 26 points before the break.

Dream coach Karl Smesko wanted momentum carrying into the third quarter when he used a timeout late in the half.

“The timeout was just, we thought it was important to try and finish the half on a good note,” Smesko said. “Ideally we would have liked to get it under 10. Didn’t happen. So we were just trying to finish the half and have some momentum going into the second half.”

Atlanta opened the third on a 9-2 run. It won the quarter 19-12 and the fourth 17-13.

The Dream cut the deficit to 61-55 midway through the fourth quarter before Veronica Burton answered with a step-back 3-pointer.

Rhyne Howard’s three-point play with 28 seconds left made it 66-62. Burton made 1 of 2 free throws a second later, and Atlanta did not score again.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said Atlanta wants to punch early and get downhill. Angel Reese went 2-of-12 from the field.

“Team defense, like attention to detail,” Nakase said. “I think we settled in a little bit more too. Like we just took a breath. Remember I was telling you guys earlier, like we’re punching, punching, punching a little bit too early. So we just took a breath. We locked into the details.”

“We understood it’s so loud in there,” Nakase continued. “So we talked about, like, we’ve got to really look now. You can’t communicate because it’s so loud. So credit just to the players for recognizing, like, how can we be better in a loud arena? I think they’re right on. They were very connected tonight. And then obviously Kiah Stokes protecting the rim, with that matchup, I think she did what she always does. She is consistent. She’s a consistent rim protector. And we all know we’re a really composed team when she’s in.”

Reese finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Her 3 blocks tied her playoff career high, and she committed 6 turnovers.

She had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2. In Game 3, she had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Howard scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added 8 rebounds.

Jordin Canada and Isobel Borlase scored 10 apiece, and Canada had 4 assists. Naz Hillmon grabbed 9 rebounds, 5 of them offensive.

Allisha Gray played 21:52 with 5 fouls and scored 5 points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Stokes set Golden State franchise playoff records with 16 rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds. Her 3 blocks gave her 14 in the series, a record for a WNBA Finals series.

Nakase changed her starting lineup, inserting Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes and bringing Cecilia Zandalasini and Kayla Thornton off the bench.

Hayes scored all 13 of her points after halftime. Burton added 13 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a team-high 38:08, and Zandalasini had 10 points and 3 steals off the bench.

The Valkyries shot 36.1% from the field and made 4 of 25 3-point attempts. Atlanta shot 33.3% and went 4-of-23 from beyond the arc.

The Dream made 22 of 31 free throws. Golden State made 11 of 13.

Golden State outscored Atlanta 38-28 in the paint and scored 16 points off turnovers. The Dream scored 8 off the Valkyries’ 9 turnovers.

The crowd of 17,099 was a sellout. The game tipped at 1 p.m. ET because the Atlanta Hawks held their home opener in the arena Saturday night.

Game 5 is Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco and airs on USA Network and Peacock.

Game 6 is set for Thursday, Oct. 29, in Atlanta. The Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena at 7 p.m. that night, and Game 6 is currently slated for Gateway Center Arena in College Park, according to Sports Illustrated.