5 Takeaways From Dream's 80-69 Game 6 Win Over Valkyries

The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 on Thursday afternoon at State Farm Arena to even the WNBA Finals at 3-3. Saturday's Game 7 at Chase Center is the first in Finals history.

Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard had 21 for Atlanta. Gabby Williams led Golden State with 26.

The Dream made 6 3-pointers in the first quarter. In Monday's 64-55 loss at Chase Center, they made 6 all night on 26 attempts.

Atlanta finished 13-of-30 from 3-point range Thursday. The 13 made 3-pointers tied the most by a team facing elimination in Finals history, according to ESPN.

Gray went 5-of-7 from deep, and Howard went 4-of-6. Angel Reese made 2, and Naz Hillmon and Jordin Canada made 1 apiece.

After shooting 29.2% from the field in Game 5, the Dream shot 43.5%. They led 32-15 after one quarter and 46-26 at halftime.

Every Atlanta win in this series has come by double digits. The Dream won Game 2 by 14, Game 3 by 26, and Game 6 by 11.

Golden State's wins came by 4 in Game 1, 5 in Game 4, and 9 in Game 5.

Atlanta led the series in fast-break points 43-11 through three games, according to the league's postgame notes. Golden State won that category 10-4 on Thursday.

In the first half, Dream coach Karl Smesko said, Atlanta got back to the spacing and pace it is supposed to play with. The Dream scored 46 points before the break.

"I think the biggest problem is when we're not playing at our pace," Smesko said. "And if the game is at their pace, they have an advantage. If the game is at our pace, we have an advantage. And so we have to be just locked in to the way we play, and we can't let them take us out of that. And I think that'll be the challenge in Game 7 for both teams probably."

Atlanta went 10-of-30 from the field after halftime and committed 10 of its 15 turnovers in the second half.

Kiah Stokes started at center and played 20 minutes. She went scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds, and finished minus-25.

In Game 5, Stokes had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said the coaching staff made the call on her minutes.

"I just think her legs weren't moving as well as LA's, and so that was just a decision that we made," Nakase said.

Laeticia Amihere also played 20 minutes. She had 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists and finished plus-14. No other Golden State player was better than plus-3.

Amihere grabbed 8 of her rebounds after halftime. She checked in for Stokes with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter and stayed on the floor for the rest of the game.

Nakase said Amihere had fresh legs and pressures the ball differently.

"LA's been itching, and she's been so good in film sessions, just adding her two cents inside, and she's been super vocal," Nakase explained. "And we definitely like her ability to pressure the ball in a different way. And so, yeah, she was ready to play those minutes. And I thought she had great fight. She had fresh legs. And I loved every minute that she was out there."

Nakase used nine players. Janelle Salaün, the league's Sixth Woman of the Year, did not play, and the box score listed it as a coach's decision.

Kayla Thornton played 8:30 and Kaitlyn Chen played 4:30, all of it in the first half.

Reese finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. She shot 5-of-18 from the field and 2-of-8 from 3-point range, with 6 turnovers.

In Game 4, Reese went 2-of-12. She went 2-of-8 in Game 5 and finished with 7 points.

Reese wanted to lead the team, however ugly it got.

"Definitely was tough and always frustrating, especially for threes, because they keep telling me to shoot," Reese said. "And I don't like when I'm not making the shots, but my teammates still trust and pass it to me. So I'm also really, really grateful for them for always putting confidence into me."

"But it was just a mental mindset of me just being able to go out there and just try to lead the team as best as I can, no matter how ugly it could be," Reese continued. "As long as we came out with the win, I just wanted to do whatever it took to win."

She grabbed 12 of her 14 rebounds on the defensive end. Smesko challenged her fifth foul with 1:56 left, and the call stood.

Reese entered Thursday with more than 60 rebounds in the series. Sylvia Fowles is the only other player to reach 60 in a single Finals, with 75 in 2017, according to the league's Game 5 notes.

At halftime, Williams had 4 points on 1-of-9 shooting. She scored 22 after the break, 15 of them in the fourth quarter, and went 7-of-8 at the line.

Golden State outscored Atlanta 43-34 in the second half. Williams said the adjustment was to "up our ball pressure."

The Valkyries scored 10 points off Atlanta's second-half turnovers.

Golden State has sold out every game at Chase Center across its two seasons. The Valkyries also swept the three-game regular-season series with Atlanta.

Atlanta won Game 2 in San Francisco and lost Games 1 and 5 there.

Saturday's Game 7 at Chase Center starts at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.