WNBA Finals Game 3: Dream Rout Valkyries 97-71 to Lead Series 2-1 as Reese Posts 21 Points and 12 Rebounds
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night, October 21, to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday in Atlanta.
Dream forward Angel Reese had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, with three assists and three steals. According to USA Today, Reese is the first player in WNBA history to record a double-double in each of her first three Finals games, and the youngest player in Finals history with consecutive games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. "It feels good when you're in the Finals," Reese said after the game. "It's a long season and you play against everybody and go through and push through, but when you can do it at the highest level, this is what I live for."
Four Dream starters scored in double figures: Rhyne Howard had 16 points and five steals, Naz Hillmon 15 points, and Jordin Canada 10 points and eight assists. Gabby Williams scored 15 points and Tiffany Hayes 14 for the Valkyries, who shot 35% from the field to Atlanta's 49%. The game was played before a sold-out crowd of more than 17,000, according to USA Today.
The turning point came in the third quarter. With the game tied at 49, Atlanta scored eight straight points, four of them by Reese. Hayes's layup got Golden State within 59-55, but Atlanta closed the quarter by scoring 12 of the final 14 points. According to the Associated Press, the Dream have outscored the Valkyries 63-35 across the third quarters of the three games. The scoring by quarter was 23-15, 23-25, 25-17 and 26-14.
"We fought for this arena, so we had to protect it," Howard said. "We went and stole one, but we couldn't let them come in and do the same thing."
Golden State won Game 1, 68-64, and Atlanta won Game 2, 79-65, behind Reese's 30 points and 16 rebounds. GSM reported earlier on October 21 that former NBA player Enes Kanter said he had received death threats over his plan to attend Game 3 and had contacted the FBI.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Bama in ATL · CC BY-SA 4.0
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