Angel Reese scores 30 as Dream beat Valkyries 79-65 to even the WNBA Finals
The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday at Chase Center, tying the series 1-1. Angel Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and a 19-2 Atlanta run that started late in the third quarter turned a one-point game into a 64-46 lead.
Both teams made exactly 21 field goals and exactly 7 threes. The whole 14-point margin came at the free-throw line, where Atlanta went 30 of 35 and Golden State went 16 of 19.
The third quarter, again
Golden State scored 9 points in the third quarter of Game 1. It scored 9 again on Monday.
Veronica Burton hit a 26-foot three at 9:31 of the third for a 40-39 lead, Golden State's last lead of the night. Kaitlyn Chen still had the Valkyries within 45-44 at 3:52.
From there it was all Atlanta. DeWanna Bonner scored on a running layup off a Reese assist at 3:06. Allisha Gray, Reese and Naz Hillmon all scored at the line, Reese added a layup and two more free throws, and Jordin Canada hit a 32-foot three with 0.8 seconds left for a 60-46 lead after three.
Canada and Bonner each made two free throws in the first minute of the fourth, and by 9:00 it was 64-46. Atlanta outscored Golden State 19-2 over that 6:52 stretch.
How the first half went
Chen's 5-footer with 2.0 seconds left gave Golden State a 21-18 lead after one, helped by two threes from Kaila Charles.
In the second quarter, the Valkyries scored 7 straight points at the line between 7:04 and 4:14, 5 of them from Gabby Williams, to lead 33-27. Atlanta answered with a 10-0 run, capped by Gray's 25-foot running jumper at 1:31. Tiffany Hayes tied it with two driving layups, and Bonner's 18-foot pull-up with 2.5 seconds left made it 39-37 Atlanta at the half.
The fourth quarter
Atlanta's lead hit 21 at 69-48 on two Canada free throws at 6:06. Williams hit a 26-foot three and Charles a 23-footer at 4:32 to make it 71-55. On the next trip, Reese made a 24-foot three off a Canada pass at 4:15, her only three-point try of the night. Burton's 24-foot three at 1:30 made it 78-63, and the Valkyries never got closer than the final 14.
The numbers that decided it
Our Game 2 preview focused on the turnover battle. Atlanta had won it in all five of its earlier playoff games, then lost it 12-8 in Game 1. On Monday it flipped back.
- Turnovers. Golden State turned it over 19 times and Atlanta 14. The Dream scored 24 points off those turnovers, the Valkyries 13.
- Steals. Atlanta had 14 steals, up from 5 in Game 1. Rhyne Howard had 6 and Bonner 4.
- Fast breaks. Atlanta outscored Golden State 19-0 in fast-break points.
- Free throws. Atlanta took 35 free throws after taking 21 in Game 1.
The preview also added the turnover margin and the offensive-rebound margin together. Golden State had won that combined count in all seven of its playoff games. Atlanta won it by 7 on Monday: by 5 on turnovers and 8-6 on the offensive glass. It's one game, but it's the first time this postseason the Valkyries lost that count.
Reese made 10 of 16 shots and 9 of 11 free throws and was +13. Canada had 13 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Gray scored 18 and was +20, the best mark on either team.
Williams and Hayes scored 14 each for Golden State, but Williams went 3 of 15. Kiah Stokes had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks without attempting a shot, and the Valkyries had 10 assists on 21 baskets.
What's next
My preview picked Golden State to win Game 2, and that missed. The betting lean, the under 152.5, hit with 144 total points.
Game 3 is Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 5 p.m. PT at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, on USA Network (simulcast on CNBC) and Peacock.
My pick is Atlanta in Game 3. Through two games, the Dream have outscored Golden State 38-18 in third quarters.
*Full Court Buckets gathers and verifies its own game data. Turnover totals include team turnovers.*
TV: USA Network (simulcast on CNBC) ยท Stream: Peacock
How this story was made: drafted with AI tools from the sources linked above, then reviewed and edited by Ryan Moalemi. How we make Full Court Buckets
Full Court Buckets · WNBA News. Analysis. Commentary.