™Nobody is going to put Game 5 in a highlight package, and the Golden State Valkyries will not care. In front of a sold-out Chase Center crowd, Golden State ground out a 64-55 win over the Atlanta Dream on Monday night to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals — one win away from the first championship in franchise history, in only its second season of existence.
Defense wins, again
This was a defensive battle from the opening tip, and Golden State's defense decided it for the second game running. The Valkyries held Atlanta to a season-low 55 points, forced 17 Dream turnovers and turned them into 21 points. Atlanta shot just 29 percent from the field. The first half — Golden State 25, Atlanta 22 — produced a combined 47 points, the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA Finals history. Atlanta led 14-13 after the first quarter and never led by more than one point all night; Golden State won the third quarter 21-18 and the fourth 18-15, leading by as many as 16.
Stokes and Burton lead a balanced attack
Golden State had four players in double figures, led by Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton with 13 points apiece. Stokes added eight rebounds and three blocks — her sixth straight game with three or more blocks, tied with Lisa Leslie for the longest such streak in a single WNBA postseason — and hit a season-high three three-pointers, going 3-for-4 from deep. Burton matched Stokes with 13 points and eight rebounds, and her four blocks tied Diana Taurasi for the most blocks by a guard in a WNBA Finals game. Cecilia Zandalasini and Tiffany Hayes added 12 points each. "I mean, they're tough. We just gotta make sure we're taking the right shots," Stokes said afterward. "Even if Gabby's not on, it's just next man up. So we're just trying to all do our part and it's a team for a reason, man." "That's just been our staple all season," Stokes added of the defense. "We really rely on our defense."
Howard fights alone for Atlanta
Rhyne Howard led all scorers with 20 points, and Jordin Canada added 12 and Allisha Gray 10, but Atlanta had no other answer. Angel Reese pulled down 15 rebounds, yet after scoring five points in the first quarter she finished with just seven. For the second straight game, Golden State's physical, collapsing defense kept Reese from taking over — after holding her to eight points in Game 4, the Valkyries again made every look a contest. "We got one more, so we just gotta make sure, it don't matter what time we play, all we need is two hoops, 94-feet and each other, that's all we need," Stokes told the Chase Center crowd afterward.
What it means
The series heads back to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday, October 29, at 12:30 p.m. ET — moved to accommodate an NBA game later that evening. A Golden State win clinches the title. An Atlanta win forces a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday, October 31. The Dream, who led this series 2-1 after Game 3, now face elimination at home. The Valkyries, who have won two straight by grinding Atlanta's offense to a halt, are 40 minutes from history.