SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Allisha Gray provided a lift for the Atlanta Dream with 19 points in her return to the lineup after missing two games with an injured finger on her shooting hand.
It wasn't enough, as Gray and the Dream struggled in the fourth quarter and fell to the Golden State Valkyries 68-64 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday.
Gray scored the first basket of the game on a driving layup and showed no ill-effects of the finger being hurt.
“I felt good playing out there. My finger felt good, was able to get through the physicality,” Gray said.
She missed all seven of her shots in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left that would have given the Dream the lead. Gray finished 5 for 19 from the field, including missing seven of her eight 3-point attempts.
Gray was the team's top scorer in the regular season, averaging 19 points. She injured her left hand in the best-of-five semifinals series opener against New York. She briefly returned in that game after going to the locker room, but went down a second time after diving for a loose ball and did not return. She didn't play in the final two games of Atlanta's sweep of the Liberty.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night back at Chase Center.
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