Valkyries beat Dream 67-62 in Atlanta to tie WNBA finals 2-2

Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 67-62 in Atlanta on Saturday to level the WNBA finals at 2-2, with Gabby Williams leading the winners with 17 points. The best-of-seven series now shifts back to California for Game 5 on Monday.

Golden State’s victory ended a two-game run by Atlanta and produced a 67-62 final score after four games in the final. Game-by-game results through Game 4 were: Game 1 – Golden State 68, Atlanta 64; Game 2 – Atlanta 79, Golden State 65; Game 3 – Atlanta 97, Golden State 71; Game 4 – Golden State 67, Atlanta 62. The schedule lists Game 5 as Atlanta at Golden State on Mon 26 Oct, 8pm (USA/CNBC), Game 6 on Thu 29 Oct with Golden State at Atlanta, 8pm (USA/CNBC), and Game 7 on Sat 31 Oct with Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm* (USA/CNBC).

Angel Reese, who had dominated the previous two Atlanta victories, was held to eight points in Game 4; she had averaged 25.5 points and 14 rebounds in the Dream’s wins. Reese missed 10 of her 12 shots, including several fourth-quarter layups, after recording double-doubles in each of the first three games of the series.

Atlanta rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to cut the margin to 61-55 midway through the fourth quarter, energizing a sellout crowd of over 17,000. Veronica Burton responded with a three-pointer for Golden State, but the Dream scored seven of the next nine points, with Rhyne Howard converting a three-point play with 28 seconds remaining to pull within 66-62; Burton then made the first of two free throws a second later and Atlanta failed to score on the final possession. Howard finished with 19 points as Atlanta shot 33.3% overall and 4 for 23 from three-point range.

Defence and rebounding were decisive for Golden State: the Valkyries challenged Atlanta’s shots and limited second-chance opportunities. Kiah Stokes recorded three blocks and reached a total of 14 blocks across the four finals games, surpassing the previous finals mark of 12 held by Brittney Griner and Sylvia Fowles; Stokes also collected 16 rebounds, eight of them offensive, helping Golden State to extra scoring chances and fewer turnovers.

Coach Natalie Nakase altered the starting lineup before the game, inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles for Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini. When Thornton and Zandalasini later entered the contest they contributed to a key first-quarter run that gave Golden State its first lead since the third quarter of Game 2, and the Valkyries closed the half on an 18-6 run to lead 42-26 at the break—the largest deficit Atlanta had faced all play-offs.

The series will continue on Monday with Game 5 in California; in the United States the finals are being shown on NBC, USA Network and CNBC with all games streaming on Peacock. In the United Kingdom the coverage is on Sky Sports, and in Australia viewers can access WNBA League Pass with selected coverage on ESPN.