5 Takeaways From Dream's 97-71 Game 3 Win Over Valkyries

The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena and lead the WNBA Finals 2-1.

Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and five Dream players scored in double figures.

Atlanta scored 44 points in the paint. Golden State scored 20.

The Dream also won fast-break scoring 13-5. Across three games, Atlanta leads that category 43-11, according to the league’s postgame notes.

Golden State’s 17 turnovers became 22 Dream points. Atlanta gave the ball away 10 times and allowed 7 points off those.

The Dream assisted on 26 of their 34 field goals. Jordin Canada had 8 assists, Allisha Gray had 6, and Rhyne Howard had 4.

The Valkyries’ reserves outscored Atlanta’s 38-27. It was the third time this postseason Golden State’s bench had 35 or more points, according to the team.

Janelle Salaün, the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year, scored 13 on 5-of-7 shooting. She made 3 of 4 3-point attempts, all in the second quarter. Tiffany Hayes added 14 off the bench.

Cecilia Zandalasini, a starter, went 4-of-6 from 3-point range for 13 points. The four 3-pointers tied her career playoff high.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase wants to find the right units to put around Salaün.

“It was really good,” Nakase said. “Just obviously her spacing, just being ready to catch and shoot. That’s Ja, the killer. It’s the confidence. It’s the floor spacer. That’s really good. But also 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.”

“So, yeah, she was a nice little spark for us, for sure,” Nakase continued. “And now I just, again, want to make sure I’m putting in those right units together. That’s super connected.”

Salaün played 7:58 in the second quarter and 4:03 after halftime.

Kiah Stokes had 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in 26 minutes. All 3 blocks came in the first quarter.

She moved into 15th on the WNBA’s career playoff list for defensive rebounds with 231 and is tied for 19th in total playoff rebounds with 308, according to the league. Her 77 offensive rebounds are tied for 22nd.

Stokes has 23 blocks this postseason, tied for the seventh-most in a single WNBA postseason, according to the team.

She had 4 blocks in Game 2 while defending Reese.

The crowd of 17,099 was a sellout. Game 3 was moved up from Thursday and out of Gateway Center Arena, the Dream’s 3,500-seat regular home, so it could be played at State Farm Arena.

Game 4 is also sold out, according to The Associated Press.

Game 1 drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on NBC, the most-watched Game 1 in Finals history. Game 2 averaged 1.33 million on USA Network, the most-watched Finals Game 2 ever on cable, according to the league.

The Dream will play all of their home games at State Farm Arena next season after signing a multiyear deal this month.

Gabby Williams’ plan for the next two days starts with rest.

“First and foremost, rest, recover, and then look back,” Williams said. “I know I’m being redundant, but look back at the film, see where we can adjust and have a good day of practice, reconnect, regroup, and just get ready for Saturday.”

Golden State’s medical staff asked Nakase about the schedule as soon as the game ended.

“That’s what medical asked right after I came here,” Nakase explained. “So we’re going to sit down, us and medical, we’re going to sit down and make sure we plan what’s right for each individual player and then also with the film session. So we’re going to plan that when I get back there.”

In WNBA Finals series of best-of-five or longer, the team up 2-1 has won 9 of 13, per the league.

Game 4 tips off at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday at State Farm Arena and airs on NBC.