Angel Reese’s 30 points and 16 rebounds lift Dream to 79-65 win, level WNBA finals 1-1
Angel Reese scored 30 points and collected 16 rebounds as the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 at the Chase Center on Monday, Oct. 19, leveling the WNBA finals best-of-seven series at 1-1. The victory came in Game 2 and returned the series to Atlanta for Game 3.
Reese entered Game 2 coming off a difficult finish to the opener, having gone scoreless in the second half of Game 1, and she told teammates before tip-off: “I need the ball! I need the ball!” She said she felt she had let her team down in the previous game: “For me, I think I let my team down last game not really contributing as much as I could in the second half,” Reese said. The win provided the Dream with their first finals victory after three prior trips without a win — 0-10 overall.
Reese finished 10 for 16 from the field with three assists and two blocks while making decisive plays on both ends in the second half. The Dream improved defensively after the opener and Reese credited preparation: “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,” Reese said. “And we can see that tonight. And we’re gonna carry that over in Atlanta. Atlanta, y’all better pull up and pop out, I’m looking forward to it.”
Rhyne Howard set a WNBA finals record with six steals, Allisha Gray scored 18 points, and Jordin Canada finished with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Those contributions helped Atlanta earn the franchise’s first finals game win and leave San Francisco having split the first two contests in front of the boisterous "Ballhalla" crowd at Chase Center.
Golden State managed only 34.4% shooting and 7 for 24 from three-point range for the game. Gabby Williams finished with 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting after having been the only Valkyries player in double figures with 26 in Saturday’s 68-64 Game 1 win, and point guard Veronica Burton said: “We shot terribly. We missed shots that we make all the time.”
Atlanta converted Golden State’s 19 turnovers into 24 points, a sharp contrast with Game 1 when the Dream scored just eight points off turnovers. Reese said the defensive return to form reflected group focus: “We just got back to our identity about who we are and kept our foot on the pedal,” Reese said. “We didn’t let up and everybody was just on the same page, we had each other’s back. That’s just Atlanta basketball.”
Atlanta coach Karl Smesko could see Reese’s focus before the game, and Valkyries centre Kiah Stokes commented on her performance: “She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game,” Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said. Foul trouble nearly hampered the Dream during the contest, but Reese maintained her impact on the floor; Chase Center, which holds 18,064, has sold out every game since the Valkyries began playing last year.
Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta at 8pm (USA/CNBC), with the next two games moved to the NBA’s Hawks’ State Farm Arena to accommodate more fans; State Farm Arena holds more than 17,000 compared with the Dream’s regular Gateway Center Arena, which accommodates only 3,500.