SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Reese was disappointed after the Atlanta Dream lost Game 1 of the WNBA Finals to the Golden State Valkyries and promised to pick it up.
The Dream All-Star posted a 30-point, 16-rebound double-double to fuel the 79-65 victory at Chase Center on Monday, Oct. 19. It was the first Finals victory across four series in franchise history.“I was hungry, we wanted one and we felt like we let one slip away,” Reese said.
Allisha Gray added 18 points and five rebounds for the Dream. Jordin Canada put up 13 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard broke the WNBA Finals record for most steals in a game with six takeaways.
The Valkyries were led by Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes, who both had 14 points. Veronica Burton added 11 points. Golden
State shot 34% from the field and never led by more than six points.
The series heads to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 21, at State Farm Arena.
"Atlanta, y'all better pull up and pop out," Reese said. "I'm looking forward to it."
Here are the winners and losers from Game 2.
Winners
Dream forward Angel Reese
Angel Reese was held scoreless in the second half of Game 1 after a 14-point first half on Saturday. A disappointed Reese said she “let her team down” and vowed to leave it all on the floor in Game 2.
“I don't think they really did anything. Maybe that was just on me,” Reese said after Game 1. “I wasn't aggressive enough with the ball and trying to get… to my spot. So I'm definitely going to do a better job of that next game.”
The Finals Barbie delivered on Monday.
Reese recorded a 30-point, 16-rebound double-double to secure the Dream’s first WNBA Finals victory in franchise history, becoming the third player to score at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a WNBA Finals game. Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones were the other two players to achieve the feat. Reese was the youngest to do it.
Funny enough, Reese said Stewart and Jones both spoke life into her after the Dream swept the New York Liberty in the semifinals: “The told me to go get it. They told me to keep going and pushing.”
Reese’s 30 points were a playoff career high and one point away from tying her WNBA career high. She shot 10-of-16 from the field, 1-of-1 from the 3-point line and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Reese rounded out her stat line with three assists, two blocks and one steal.
“We came and fought. I mean, Game 1 was tough for us, but we moved on and turned the page and got back to who we are,” Reese said. “We watched film and saw the things that we messed up on. When I said that they didn't do anything to mess us up, it was literally just us and we can see that tonight and we going to carry that over in Atlanta."
Dream fast-break points
Angel Reese and Allisha Gray both said the Dream got back to playing like themselves in Game 2, and that included being a ferocious transition team. Atlanta outscored Golden State 19-0 in fast-break points, which went a long way toward helping the Dream win the possession battle they lost in Game 1.
The Dream blew past their regular-season average of 11.9 fast-break points per game, which ranked second in the WNBA. They used their length to their advantage, jumped passing lanes and hounded Valkyries shooters in the corners. Atlanta scored 24 points off of 19 Golden State turnovers, often with Reese pushing the ball up the court and leading the break.
Dream physicality
Atlanta played a more physical game than Golden State and it showed on the box score. Angel Reese dominated the glass, pulling down a total of 16 rebounds, including four on offense. As a team, the Dream narrowly outrebounded the Valkyries, 36-32, but it was their aggressiveness on both sides of the ball that really changed the game. They got up in the Valkyries' pockets, forcing Golden State into 19 forced turnovers. The Dream scored 24 points off the Valkyries' forced turnovers.
The Valkyries were completely discombobulated especially in the third quarter, where they were outscored 21-9.
Dream free-throw attempts, percentage
A big part of Atlanta's recipe to success was their physicality and aggressiveness. In turn, it forced the official to make a call.
The Dream shot 86% from the free-throw line as a team, going 30-for-35. Atlanta had four players take at least six free-throw attempts in the game. Reese went 9-for-11. Allisha Gray only missed one free throw, shooting 7-for-8. Jordin Canda and DeWanna Bonner both shot 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
They nearly doubled the Valkyries attempts. Golden State shot 16-of-19 on free-throws.
Losers
Gabby Williams’ shooting
Gabby Williams has played hero for the Valkyries plenty of times this season, but on Monday she never hit the clutch-mode switch. Williams shot 3-of-15 from the field, including 1-of-6 on 3-pointers. It was by far her worst shooting performance this postseason.
Some of Williams’ misses were the result of poor shot selection and forced looks late in the shot clock. Others were just unlucky, like the rare weakside wedgie on a 3-point attempt in the second quarter. But Williams also shanked a slew of open shots that she usually makes.
Williams was a perfect 7-for-7 at the foul line, which helped her score 14 points to lead the Valkyries along with reserve guard Tiffany Hayes, who also scored 14 points. Golden State’s selling point is its depth, but the team might have leaned too much on Williams in Game 2 and kept feeding her in the hope that she’d eventually get hot. She couldn’t deliver.
Valkyries' starters
It wasn't a good outing for the Valkyries' starters in Game 2 against the Dream. They were nearly outscored by Angel Reese, by herself. Reese dropped 30 points, Golden State's starters put up 32 points.
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 14 points, but she went 3-for-15 from the field. Cecilia Zandalasini went 1-for-8, connecting on a 3-pointer. Kayla Thornton wasn't aggressively looking for her shot only taking three attempts in the game. She made one.
Veronica Burton had a better shooting performance than Game 1. Burton shot 44% going 4-for-9 in their loss. Kiah Stokes did not take any shots in the 30 minutes she played.
Valkyries' turnovers
The Valkyries turned the ball over 19 times in Monday’s loss, a season-high. And the Dream capitalized on Golden State’s mishaps, compiling 24 points off turnovers.
“We were just a little too loose with the ball. Obviously that's what they're known for and we're known for the opposite,” Veronica Burton said. “We had a lot of times where we were hesitant or we weren't on the same page and that's where it led to turnovers.”
Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase described the Valkyries’ errors as “controllable.” She said her team was outworked and outhustled in the matchup, which she called “frustrating.”
"I need to have some conversations," Nakase said. "I need to listen within the next 48 hours to see how did I not deliver my message about our game plan, our fight, our physicality. ... Unfortunate and definitely going to ask questions.”
Dream and Valkyries shooting output has been a struggle
The shooting in both games during the WNBA Finals have been poor. If people wanted offense, it is far and few in between at times. The grind is very real. Both teams shot under 35% in Game 2.
The reason? Both teams have elite defenses. Golden State had the top defense in the WNBA this season and Atlanta was third.
“What’s (the Dream’s) identity? Defense,” Natalie Nakase said Monday. “We're a defensive-minded team. So we hang our hats on the defensive end. They played harder (tonight), and they were in the gaps better.“
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Finals winners and losers include Angel Reese's tenacity, Valkyries' starters
