SAN FRANCISCO – The Atlanta Dream had a three-point lead with just over three minutes left in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday. They didn’t score again.
Gabby Williams finished with 26 points and made six free throws in the final 2:15 as the Golden State Valkyries beat the Dream, 68–64, at Chase Center. Golden State closed on a 7–0 run to take a 1–0 series lead after trailing by seven earlier in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta scored just eight points in the final frame and didn’t make a field goal after Jordin Canada’s jumper with 4:23 remaining. The Dream had opportunities to steal the opener on the road. They spent the closing minutes missing one after another.
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Golden State’s defense produced one of the biggest sequences with the Valkyries trailing 62–59. Veronica Burton blocked Canada’s layup attempt, and Kiah Stokes rejected Angel Reese on the same possession. Tiffany Hayes grabbed the rebound and found Williams for a running layup that cut the deficit to one with 3:22 left.
Stokes finished with five blocks. That one helped turn a potential five-point deficit into a one-point game.
Rhyne Howard pushed Atlanta’s lead back to three with two free throws, but Williams answered with four straight at the line. Her second pair put Golden State ahead 65–64 with 1:18 remaining.
Reese twice stole the ball from Williams in the final 1:41, giving Atlanta chances to change the ending. Neither possession produced a point. Allisha Gray missed a layup after the first steal, and Naz Hillmon missed a three after the second.
Stokes split two free throws with 23.8 seconds left to make it 66–64. Gray then missed a potential go-ahead three, and Williams made two more free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
The Chase Center crowd made its feelings about the officiating clear with repeated, loud chants of “Refs you suck.” Through three quarters, Atlanta had attempted 17 free throws to Golden State’s 5. The Dream finished 18-for-21 at the line, compared with 11-for-16 for the Valkyries.
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One of the most notable sequences came with 3:12 remaining, when Howard drove to the basket and Burton was called for a foul. Burton went down holding her face and remained on the floor for a while. Officials reviewed the play for a possible hostile act by Howard, but assessed no foul on the Atlanta guard.
Howard made both free throws to give the Dream their 64–61 lead. Those turned out to be Atlanta’s final points.
Less than a minute later, Hayes went down holding her face after attempting a steal, just before Burton blocked Gray’s shot. There was no foul call or review on that sequence, and another loud chant followed from the crowd.
These teams account for six of the 10 players named to the WNBA’s All-Defensive teams, but the first half produced 81 combined points.
Reese did much of the early damage. She scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter, including nine during Atlanta’s 11–0 run to close the period. The Dream turned a 14–11 deficit into a 22–14 lead, with Reese supplying half their points.
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But she didn’t make another field goal. Reese finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, scoring all three of her remaining points on second-quarter free throws.
Williams took over in the second quarter, scoring all 16 of her first-half points in that period. She shot 6-for-9 and hit three 3-pointers as Golden State outscored Atlanta 28–17 to take a 42–39 halftime lead.
That wasn’t enough to satisfy Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase.
“We were sleeping the whole first quarter,” Nakase said at the break. She added: “Our defense is terrible right now!”
Golden State’s offense became the problem in the third quarter. The Valkyries scored just nine points, and Atlanta took a 56–51 lead into the fourth. Gray, who led the Dream with 19 points, made two jumpers in the final two minutes of the third to help Atlanta regain control.
The teams combined for just 51 points after halftime, a much better fit for their defensive reputations.
Golden State got enough offense from Williams to survive it. Atlanta couldn’t find a basket when it needed one.
