The Golden State Valkyries entered Saturday with their backs against the wall. After dropping back-to-back one-sided affairs — including a 26-point blowout on Wednesday — the Valkyries were trailing the Atlanta Dream 2-1 in the WNBA Finals. With how Games 2 and 3 had gone, it felt like Game 4 was a must-win for Golden State to keep their chances alive.
And win they did, as the Valks left Atlanta with a 67-62 victory, evening the series and restoring home court advantage.
It started with a lineup change.
Coach Natalie Nakase switched up her starting five, inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles into the lineup, and moving Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini to the bench. The impact was immediately felt, as the Valkyries came out of the gates running the court and playing with high levels of athleticism and energy. But, as has been the case in all the games this series, they still couldn’t score in the early going. They were getting good looks though, which was encouraging after how much their offense struggled on Wednesday.
After four minutes, the game resembled the last few: Golden State was trailing 7-2, and in danger of losing contact with Atlanta. The State Farm Arena was positively hopping, and the Dream were playing with confidence.
But then things shifted. Atlanta’s Allisha Gray picked up her third foul, and Golden State started to turn their excellent defense into offensive opportunities. They were getting out in transition time and time again, and it felt like they were forcing turnovers on every possession. As they did, they started to find their swagger and their mojo, and the tide turned immediately. Soon the game was tied, and then Golden State led, and eventually it was a 12-0 run as the 7-2 deficit turned into a 14-7 lead, which led to a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Atlanta scored the first four points of the second quarter, but it still felt like Golden State controlled the game. Both of the Dream’s early buckets were on very difficult looks, as it felt like they simply couldn’t get easy shots. Eventually they started to shift the momentum, but Veronica Burton sent things back Golden State’s way with a deep three to beat the shot clock buzzer.
From there, Golden State settled into some of the best defense they’ve ever played … which is saying a lot considering that they were far and away the top defensive team in the league this year. They were truly suffocating Atlanta, and Angel Reese — who dominated Games 2 and 3 — specifically. As they did in the first quarter, the Valkyries started to use their second-quarter stops to generate offense, and behind a bevy of forced turnovers, they exploded for a 9-0 run that pushed the lead up to 13 points.
Unlike in the first three games of the series, the Valkyries were able to create space on offense in the second. They were cutting into the middle of the lane time and time again, and using more of the court opened up other areas. Suddenly they had space, and the offense was taking advantage as the run was pushed up to 14-2, and the lead to six points.
It briefly looked like Atlanta would find some momentum to end the quarter, but Golden State forced turnovers on the final two possessions, giving them a staggering 14 forced turnovers in the half. The result was a 42-26 halftime advantage, as Nakase told the broadcast that “finally they decided to fight” and that her squad was “playing their hearts out.”
But you knew that Atlanta would have a fight saved for the second half, and indeed they did. Golden State was fairly disjointed to start the third quarter, as the space they created in the first half just wasn’t there anymore. The Dream were gaining some momentum, the fans were getting back into the game, and the Valkyries couldn’t find the bottom of the basket.
As the momentum shifted, Atlanta started playing with more physicality, and getting more and more feisty. Golden State was quick to match, as Nakase drew a technical foul, the fouls became more violent, and both teams pushed the trash talk.
Through it all, the Dream kept cutting away at the lead, and at the 4:30 mark Isobel Borlase drained a three that sent the building into a frenzy. The Valkyries’ 16-point lead was suddenly down to just six points, and Nakase needed a timeout.
One of the defining traits of Games 2 and 3 were Atlanta’s ability to respond to every Golden State run. And in this game, that script was flipped. Out of the timeout, Hayes made a tough bucket, the Valks got a stop, and Gabby Williams sunk a jumper, restoring order as the lead was pushed back to double-digits. That trend continued as the game turned into a grind: Atlanta would make a run and start to control the momentum, and then Golden State would pull the game right back into their control. At the end of the third quarter they led 54-45, despite it feeling like they were thoroughly outplayed in the frame.
With so much at stake, the fourth quarter was, predictably, intense. You could feel the importance of every single possession, and the game grew mildly hectic as a result. Both teams wanted it so badly, and both teems needed it so badly, and that was palpable with every play. The Dream quickly pulled within six points, and they were threatening to get closer when Hayes — who seemed to have a response at every turn of this game — scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to 10.
Again Atlanta pushed, getting within six, and again Golden State responded, this time with a deep three from Veronica Burton. As the clock dwindled, Reese tried to play the hero and get Atlanta back into the game, but it simply wasn’t working. She was forcing shots as the Valkyries played nearly impeccable defense on her, and time and time again the ball would clank off the rim. Finally, Reese got a shot to fall with 1:36 remaining, pulling Atlanta to within five points. The arena was bouncing, and only grew louder when Thornton missed a jumper on the other end, giving the Dream a chance to make it a single-possession game.
It was the biggest possession of Game 4, and both teams battled like it. Gray missed a three, but Atlanta corralled the offensive rebound. Borlase then missed a three, and the ball bounced around, seemingly touching every player before, critically, Thornton ripped the rebound out of the air, giving Golden State the ball with under a minute remaining, and a five-point lead. When Burton knocked in a clutch fadeaway jumper with 35 seconds remaining, pushing the advantage to seven points, it felt like the game was over.
But Atlanta had one final push, as Rhyne Howard drove to the rim for a big and-one with 29 seconds remaining, pulling the Dream back to within four points. They immediately fouled Burton on the inbounds, and she split the free throws. Atlanta took over with 28 seconds remaining and down five, but Golden State’s defense had been elite all game, and that wasn’t going change on this possession. After two Atlanta missed shots and two Atlanta offensive rebounds, Burton forced a turnover, giving the ball back to Golden State. At that point, the Dream were ready to call it a game, and didn’t foul to prolong the game, as the buzzer rang and the Valks won 67-62.
Williams once again led the Valkyries in scoring while once again struggling with efficiency, shooting 7-for-21 en route to 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Hayes, who played her first 10 seasons with the Dream, had 13 points, all in the second half — and seemingly all when Golden State needed them the most. And the elite defense was once again driven by an other-worldly performance by Kiah Stokes, who gobbled up 16 rebounds and blocked three shots, becoming the first player in history to have three or more blocks in four straight WNBA Finals games. Most impressive, however, was her defense on Reese, who was held to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting, and committed six turnovers. The turnovers were the big story of the game, as Golden State forced 17 of them, which they turned into 16 points. Atlanta, meanwhile, forced just nine turnovers, and scored just eight points off of them.
The series is now tied 2-2 as it heads back to the Bay Area, with Game 5 on Monday at 5:00 p.m. PT at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Golden State’s win also guaranteed that there will be a Game 6, which will bring some drama of its own. That game, which is currently scheduled for Thursday at 5:00 p.m. PT in Atlanta, doesn’t currently have a set arena.
