WNBA bailed out of scheduling disaster as Angel Reese, Dream force Game 7

Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream kept their championship hopes alive Thursday. Perhaps more importantly, they spared the WNBA a title celebration in the middle of a workday.

The Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 at State Farm Arena, evening the best-of-seven Finals at 3-3 and forcing a deciding game Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Reese struggled to shoot the ball for a third consecutive game, finishing with 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting. She grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out six assists but also committed six turnovers.

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That made it three straight games with more turnovers than made field goals for the Dream star. Across Games 4, 5 and 6, Reese shot 9-for-38 from the floor (24%) and turned the ball over 15 times.

This time, Atlanta had enough offense around her. Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard added 21, combining to make nine of their 13 three-point attempts.

Their shooting also ensured that the WNBA’s championship would be decided in prime time.

The league moved Game 6 from its originally scheduled 8 p.m. start to 12:30 p.m. Thursday to accommodate an arena doubleheader with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, who were hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers that night. Golden State fans back home had to tune in at 9:30 a.m. to watch their team try to win its first title.

There had also been questions about where the Valkyries would celebrate if they won.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that a championship celebration could be moved to a practice court to accommodate preparations for the Hawks game. She later clarified that there was "a resolve" to make sure any championship won Thursday was celebrated on the court.

But that sounded an awful lot like damage control from the WNBA. Winning a championship and then moving the celebration to a practice court because the NBA needed the floor would have been a terrible look for the league.

Atlanta’s win made the issue moot.

The crowd deserved credit for showing up under the circumstances. State Farm Arena was largely filled for a Thursday afternoon, although there were more empty seats and the building was quieter at the start than it had been for Games 3 and 4.

Fans who spoke with OutKick outside the arena described taking time off work, pulling children out of school and difficult travel times to attend. Tiffany Hayes’ father, Renard Hayes, blamed the league and Atlanta for the scheduling predicament.

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Before tipoff, both teams again left the court for the national anthem, this time performed by rapper T.I.’s 10-year-old daughter, Heiress Harris. It was their sixth consecutive absence during the Finals.

Once the game began, Atlanta quickly took control.

The Dream made six of their eight first-quarter three-point attempts and built a 32-15 lead. Reese made only one of her four shots in the period, but contributed four assists, including passes that set up three of Atlanta’s threes.

Atlanta pushed its advantage to 25 points in the second quarter and took a 46-26 lead into halftime.

Golden State narrowed the deficit in the third, but Atlanta still led 63-47 entering the fourth.

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Reese scored five points in the final period, making a driving layup and a three-pointer with Atlanta already leading by double digits. She finished 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.

The Valkyries eventually got within eight. Gabby Williams completed a three-point play with 1:15 remaining, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 77-69 and fouling Howard out of the game.

Gray answered on the next possession, making a three-pointer off a Reese assist with 56 seconds left. That restored Atlanta’s double-digit lead and provided the final points of the afternoon.

Gray finished 8-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from three. Howard made four of her six three-point attempts, while Atlanta went 13-for-30 as a team.

Williams led Golden State with 26 points but shot 8-for-22. The Valkyries made just 22 of their 70 field-goal attempts.

Kiah Stokes, whose defense had been a major factor throughout the series, went scoreless and failed to block a shot in 20 minutes. That ended her streak of six consecutive playoff games with at least three blocks.

Reese and the Dream head to San Francisco for Game 7, with both franchises one win from their first championship.

And the WNBA gets to award its trophy Saturday night, with no Hawks game waiting on the same floor.