Dream hit 13 threes, beat Valkyries 80-69 to tie Finals 3-3
The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday at State Farm Arena to tie the series 3-3. Atlanta scored 32 first-quarter points and led 46-26 at halftime.
Finals data: threes, turnovers and the halftime lead
Atlanta and Golden State have each made 43 threes in this series, and the team that led at halftime has won every game. Game 6 is the first the team with more turnovers won. Here is every game:
| Game | Final | Halftime | Dream threes | Valkyries threes | Dream TO | Valkyries TO | Fewer turnovers won? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valkyries 68, Dream 64 | Valkyries 42-39 | 4-25 | 7-33 | 12 | 8 | Yes |
| 2 | Dream 79, Valkyries 65 | Dream 39-37 | 7-25 | 7-24 | 14 | 18 | Yes |
| 3 | Dream 97, Valkyries 71 | Dream 46-40 | 9-22 | 12-30 | 8 | 15 | Yes |
| 4 | Valkyries 67, Dream 62 | Valkyries 42-26 | 4-23 | 4-25 | 17 | 9 | Yes |
| 5 | Valkyries 64, Dream 55 | Valkyries 25-22 | 6-26 | 6-24 | 15 | 7 | Yes |
| 6 | Dream 80, Valkyries 69 | Dream 46-26 | 13-30 | 7-27 | 15 | 10 | No |
| 1-6 | Dream 437, Valkyries 404 | Leader 6-0 | 43-151 | 43-163 | 81 | 67 | 5 of 6 |
Source: official WNBA.com box scores (Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4, Game 5, Game 6). Data through Game 6, Oct. 29, 2026. Methods and sources: finals, halftime scores, three-point makes and attempts, and turnovers from Full Court Buckets game files, checked against those box scores. Turnovers are the box-score turnover total and do not add separate team turnovers. Golden State had 1 team turnover in Game 6 on top of its 10. The data is free to use and republish (CC0). Download CSV (CC0)
Atlanta has shot 43 of 151 threes (28.5%) and Golden State 43 of 163 (26.4%). Atlanta has also outscored Golden State 437-404, a 33-point edge, with the series tied.
A 2-0 lead, then a 13-0 run
The WNBA moved the Game 6 tip from 8 p.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET so it could be played at State Farm Arena. The Hawks moved their game that night to 8 p.m. ET to make room (WNBA announcement, Oct. 26).
Veronica Burton made a step-back with 9:19 left in the first quarter to give Golden State a 2-0 lead, the only lead the Valkyries held. Allisha Gray answered with a three at 9:04, and the official WNBA.com box score has Golden State leading for 15 seconds. The game was never tied.
Naz Hillmon was called for a defensive three-second technical, and Gabby Williams made the free throw to make it 6-5. Atlanta then scored 13 straight points to go up 19-5 before Williams hit a three at 3:49. The Dream led 32-15 after the quarter. Those 32 points are the most by either team in any quarter of this series, and the 17-point margin is the largest end-of-quarter lead. Atlanta led 46-26 at halftime. Golden State made 9 of 34 shots in that half, with three blocked shots counted as attempts on the Game 6 play-by-play.
Gray, Howard and a flagrant call
Atlanta shot 13 of 30 from three (43.3%) and 27 of 62 overall (43.5%). Golden State shot 7 of 27 from three (25.9%) and 22 of 70 overall (31.4%). Gray made 8 of 12 shots and 5 of 7 threes for 23 points, with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. On Friday, Oct. 23, with Atlanta up 2-1, she told the AP, "I am literally playing with eight fingers" (AP). Rhyne Howard scored 21 on 6 of 11 shooting, 4 of 6 from three and 5 of 5 at the line, with 4 assists. She picked up her sixth foul, a shooting foul, with 1:15 left.
With 7:23 left in the third, Gray stole a Tiffany Hayes pass. Burton was called for a flagrant-1 on the possession after officials reviewed the play and ruled she made an unnecessary windup and contact with Howard's face as Howard drove to the basket (ESPN). The play log marks that review as a call overturned, and Howard made both free throws. Atlanta led 53-28. Golden State won the third quarter 21-17 but still trailed 63-47 entering the fourth. Kaila Charles made threes at 1:06 and with 1.2 seconds left in the quarter, her only 6 points of the game.
Angel Reese finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, and 6 turnovers, on 5 of 18 shooting and 2 of 8 from three. This was her fourth points-and-rebounds double-double of the series, following Games 1, 2 and 3. She has 78 rebounds in the six games: 12, 16, 12, 9, 15 and 14, the most by any player in a single WNBA Finals (Sporting News). The previous mark was Sylvia Fowles' 75 rebounds (15.0 per game) in the five-game 2017 Finals (WNBA). "The job is not done, and I'm looking forward to it. One more. Job's not done," Reese said after the game (The Guardian). Atlanta's bench scored 4 points, all from Isobel Borlase. DeWanna Bonner was 0 of 2.
Williams scored 26 but finished minus-15
Williams scored 26 points on 8 of 22 shooting and 7 of 8 free throws, added 3 steals and finished minus-15. Twenty-two of her 26 points came after halftime (Game 6 play-by-play). She matched her Game 1 performance of 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting and 7-of-8 free throws, though she was plus-16 in that 68-64 Valkyries win. Her three at 4:06 of the fourth, then a running layup and free throw at 1:15, got Golden State to 77-69. Laeticia Amihere had 10 rebounds and was plus-14 in 20 minutes.
Gray answered both of Golden State's early fourth-quarter pushes. Her three at 9:03, assisted by Howard, made it 66-47, and after the Valkyries cut the lead to 68-55, her three at 6:33, again from Howard, made it 71-55.
Atlanta led 74-55 with 5:43 left after Reese's second three. Golden State scored 9 of the next 10 points, and the lead was 75-64 with 2:36 left. Gray's fifth three, assisted by Reese with 56 seconds left, made it 80-69.
Kiah Stokes scored 0 points on 0 of 2 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 0 blocks and a minus-25. She had at least 3 blocks in each of the first five games and 17 blocks through Game 5. Burton scored 8 points on 2 of 13 shooting and 0 of 6 from three, made all 4 free throws, and had 0 turnovers and 3 steals. Hayes, who played her first 10 WNBA seasons with the Dream (Valkyries), scored 15 on 6 of 10 shooting. Cecilia Zandalasini scored 9 off the bench on 3 of 12. Jordin Canada scored 10, and Hillmon had 7 points and was plus-15.
What the box score adds
- Turnovers and the glass. Atlanta committed 15 turnovers to Golden State's 10, plus 1 Golden State team turnover (official box score). Atlanta scored 18 points off turnovers to Golden State's 12. Golden State edged Atlanta in player rebounds 36-35, and each team had 9 team rebounds.
- Paint, second chance, bench. Points in the paint were 26-26. Atlanta had 11 second-chance points to Golden State's 4. Golden State had 10 fast-break points to Atlanta's 4, and 14 bench points to Atlanta's 4.
- Blocks. Atlanta blocked 8 shots to Golden State's 2, Golden State's fewest blocks of the series.
- The lead. One lead change. Atlanta's biggest lead was 25, at 44-19. Golden State's was 2, at 2-0. Atlanta led for 39:04.
Watch every possession on the Game 6 play-by-play page.
The crowd and Game 7
Game 6 drew 17,099, a sellout, matching Games 3 and 4 at State Farm Arena. The FCB Finals attendance file now has 105,489 fans through six games. That is more than the 92,599 at the 2024 Finals, the highest series total in that file from 2002 through 2025. Game 7 has not been played, so the series total is not finished.
Game 7 is Saturday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) at Chase Center in San Francisco, Dream at Valkyries (WNBA.com game page). Oct. 31 is Halloween. TV: USA Network and CNBC. Streaming: Peacock.
Saturday will mark the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. In 2025 the league replaced the best-of-five Finals with a best-of-seven (WNBA announcement). The Las Vegas Aces swept Phoenix in four games in that first series (WNBA). The FCB Finals file from 2002 through 2025 includes no seventh game, as the 2025 series ended in four.
Full Court Buckets gathers and verifies its own game data against official WNBA box scores.
TV: USA Network and CNBC. Stream: Peacock.
How this story was made: Full Court Buckets articles are written by Ryan Moalemi, sometimes with AI assistance, and every stat is checked against official WNBA box scores and the sources cited in the story. How we make Full Court Buckets
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