By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Dream’s shooters finally found some daylight.
And as a result, the Dream’s goal of winning their first WNBA championship is still shining bright.
Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard had 21 as the hot-shooting Dream held off Golden State’s late rally to take an 80-69 victory over the Valkyries in Game 6 on Thursday and pull even in the WNBA Finals.
The decisive Game 7 will be played at Golden State on Saturday night as each team seeks its first WNBA championship.
After having their lowest scoring games of the Finals in losses in Games 4 and 5, the Dream enjoyed an offensive awakening when faced with the must-win mandate.
“It’s been frustrating for all of us not being able to shoot great … and open shots that we have been getting, not hitting them at the right time,” said Atlanta’s Angel Reese, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “And I always told the girls it’s not going to rain forever. And we were able to maximize that moment today. The sun peaked out a little bit more today and gave us an opportunity to see Game 7.”
The Valkyries defense was dominant in a 67-62 Game 4 win and a 64-55 win in Game 5. That left Golden State with a 3-2 series lead and an opportunity to clinch the championship on Thursday. Instead, the Dream claimed the defensive advantage and took commanding leads of 32-15 after the first quarter and 46-26 at halftime.
“The way we started in the first quarter was unacceptable on our end,” Golden State guard Veronica Burton said. “You can’t let that happen out of the gate.”
After being held to 22 points in the first half of their Game 5 loss, the Dream matched that total in the first 6:30 of the opening quarter.
“We knew they were going to be desperate,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said of the Dream. “For us not to match that is disappointing and frustrating.
“This is the Finals. The physicality is supposed to be up. You want to have that physicality. You want to have that fight. You want to have that give-it-all mentality. We just did not do that.”
On Wednesday, the Dream announced a sellout for Game 6 despite the much-criticized 12:30 p.m. EDT tipoff. There were only scattered empty seats in the upper level despite concerns about work and school obligations hurting the turnout.
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 26 points. Tiffany Hayes added 15.
Atlanta’s biggest lead was 25 points. The Valkyries stormed back in the final minutes, pulling to 77-66 on Laeticia Amihere’s two free throws with 1:57 remaining. A late 3-pointer by Gray cut off the comeback attempt.
Gray made 5 of 7 3s. Howard made 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Much of the production came on 3s. Atlanta made 6 of 8 3s and 11 of 15 shots overall while racing to a 32-15 lead in the first quarter.
Dream coach Karl Smesko said his team reclaimed its proper pace on offense.
“We played with a different spacing and pace,” Smesko said. “Like, in truth, it’s how we are supposed to play. So it is just getting back to, like, our fundamentals of how we like to play offense. And in the first half, you saw it be catching it ready to shoot.”
After leading 6-5, the Dream pulled away with 13 unanswered points in a run that included two 3s from Jordin Canada.
Reese joined the 3-point party with a shot from the corner in the second period. The Dream improve to 16-0 when Reese has at least one 3.
While Atlanta’s sharp shooting continued for a 46-26 halftime lead, the Valkyries struggled. Golden State made only 9 of 34 shots in the half, often struggling to create open opportunities because of the Dream’s smothering defense.
Howard opened the second half with another 3-pointer. Burton was called for a flagrant foul midway through the third period when an officials’ review determined she made an unnecessary windup and contact on Howard’s face as Howard was driving for a basket.
Kaila Charles closed the third quarter with a 3-pointer for Golden State that trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 16 points at 63-47. It was the smallest lead for the Dream since the 13-0 run in the opening period.
Golden State pulled to within 13 points at 68-55 before Gray and Reese sank 3s to push the lead to 74-55. Williams’ three-point play cut the led to 77-69 before Gray sank a crucial 3-pointer for Atlanta.
Hayes was called for her fifth foul in a collision for a loose ball with 5:01 remaining. Hayes left the court slowly after receiving attention from a trainer.
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