Golden State Valkyries one win from WNBA title after 64-55 Game 5 win over Atlanta Dream
Kiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Golden State Valkyries moved within one win of a championship in their second season, beating the Atlanta Dream 64-55 at home in Game 5 of the WNBA finals on Monday night.
Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists, a contrast to her two standout performances in the first two games of the series at Chase Center, and she shook her head when whistled for the second of her three offensive fouls with 7:43 to play. Fans screamed and clapped thunder sticks following the final buzzer as Stokes spoke from the floor to chants of "MVP!" "We appreciate you," a smiling Stokes said. "We got one more." Golden State now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
The series so far reads: Sat 17 Oct Game 1: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64; Mon 19 Oct Game 2: Atlanta 79, Golden State 65; Wed 21 Oct Game 3: Atlanta 97, Golden State 71; Sat 24 Oct Game 4: Golden State 67, Atlanta 62; Mon 26 Oct Game 5: Golden State 64, Atlanta 55. Thu 29 Oct Game 6: Golden State at Atlanta, 12.30pm (USA/CNBC); Sat 31 Oct Game 7: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm* (USA/CNBC). All times US Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). In the US, the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC, with all games streaming on Peacock; in the UK it will be carried by Sky Sports; in Australia fans can watch through WNBA League Pass, with selected coverage also available through ESPN.
On a night leading scorer Gabby Williams struggled to find her shooting touch, Golden State leaned on the "strength in numbers" mantra coach Natalie Nakase has praised all season long. Veronica Burton had 13 points and eight rebounds. Nakase had changed up her lineup for the 67-62 Game 4 win by inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles into the starting five and kept those two in the lineup Monday; Hayes, who played 10 seasons for Atlanta and came out of retirement two years ago, had 12 points, and Nakase has said she wants to win it all for the veteran guard.
Williams began 2 for 11 and missed all four of her three-point tries before converting a three-point play with 9:08 remaining that put the Valkyries ahead 49-42; she finished with nine points on 3-for-14 shooting and six rebounds. The Dream committed 17 turnovers that produced 21 points for Golden State.
Stokes provided late scoring bursts, hitting a three-pointer with 2:46 to go in the third quarter and another with 7:21 left in the game, which prompted chants of "Ki-ah! Ki-ah!" from the fervent "Ballhalla" home crowd.
Golden State owner Joe Lacob promised a championship within five years when the expansion franchise was granted to the Bay Area three years ago, yet this season has exceeded even what he could have envisioned. The league announced Game 6 would be played at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta starting at 12.30pm EDT on Thursday. "I’d like to see it be a national holiday for all WNBA championship games so whatever somebody can do," Dream coach Karl Smesko said. "I hope everybody gets to see it somehow and I know that for some people it’s not realistic, they have jobs and won’t be able to make it. So I’m disappointed for that but I’m really hopeful that as many people can see the game as possible."
Atlanta will now try to stave off elimination at home on Thursday in Game 6 and, if successful, force a deciding Game 7 back at Chase Center on Saturday.