Atlanta Dream beat Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of WNBA finals at State Farm Arena

The Atlanta Dream defeated the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA finals at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night, turning the downtown arena into a vociferous home court presence for their first finals game in 13 years.

Atlanta’s return to a major-arena finals stage came after uncertainty over venue availability when the Hawks were opening their season and artist Sombr had a scheduled show, which had raised the prospect of the Dream playing at the 3,500-seat airport arena or other smaller local venues; instead State Farm hosted a packed crowd that wore matching sky-blue T-shirts, waved rally towels and kept up near-constant noise from the first quarter. Courtside attendees included Kerry Washington, Ludacris and Cam Newton, while Quavo and TI headlined the halftime show and additional Atlanta rappers performed during stoppages, creating a concert-like environment throughout the game.

On the court, Atlanta set the tone by holding Golden State scoreless for the first five minutes and pressing their defence to disrupt the Valkyries’ offence, forcing late-shot-clock attempts and converting transition opportunities after turnovers and rebounds. Cecilia Zandalasini and Gabby Williams provided three-point shooting that helped Golden State cut the deficit to six by halftime, and Zandalasini was perfect from beyond the arc to that point as the Valkyries pulled level at 48 in the third quarter; otherwise, Golden State’s usual balance was frequently unsettled by the Dream’s length and speed.

Angel Reese led Atlanta with a 21-point, 12-rebound performance and reacted to the arena atmosphere: “When you can have at the end of the quarter a performance,” she gushed after a 21-point, 12-rebound effort. “And at the timeout, another performance. You smell the chicken, you smell the fish. It’s a blue-out in here. I didn’t even get to see Kerry. You don’t know who you gonna see in the A.” Rhyne Howard, noted as one of three Dream players named to the WNBA’s all-defensive team last week, became the first player to record five or more steals in consecutive finals games, while Reese — described in the report as the newly crowned defensive player of the year — became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a double-double in three straight finals games and joined A’ja Wilson as the only players to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive finals games.

Bench production favoured Golden State, with the Valkyries’ reserves outscoring Atlanta’s 38-27, but the Dream neutralised key starters, limiting Kiah Stokes, Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton to a combined five points on 2-of-11 shooting. Atlanta’s defensive game plan — including short-circuiting the pick-and-roll, forcing turnovers and securing extra possessions — undercut the Valkyries’ depth and contributed to several transition scores.

The atmosphere remained a dominant theme late in the game: with the score settled and DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” playing, fans serenaded the departing Valkyries with the chant “ATL hoe!”, while the Dream gathered at midcourt to absorb the crowd and toss mini balls into the stands. The arena experience — from on-court play to halftime entertainment and celebrity attendance — was repeatedly referenced by players and observers.

With Atlanta now leading the best-of-seven series 2-1, Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday 24 Oct with Golden State at Atlanta at 1pm (NBC), followed by Game 5 on Monday 26 Oct with Atlanta at Golden State at 8pm (USA/CNBC); in the US the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC with all games streaming on Peacock, while UK viewers can watch on Sky Sports and Australian viewers via WNBA League Pass with selected coverage on ESPN.