Dream vs. Valkyries: Angel Reese Drops 30 and 16 as Atlanta Evens WNBA Finals in Game 2

Angel Reese did not whisper her game plan. She yelled it at her teammates over the noise of a sold-out Chase Center: "I need the ball! I need the ball!" They gave it to her, and she gave Atlanta something the franchise had never had.

Reese poured in 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream pulled away from the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night in San Francisco. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1, and per the Associated Press, it is the Dream's first Finals win in franchise history after they went winless in three previous trips, 0-10 overall.

Fourteen Lead Changes, Then a Landslide

For most of the first 27 minutes, this was a genuine back-and-forth. The teams traded the lead 14 times. Golden State led 21-18 after the first quarter and was up 33-27 late in the second before Atlanta answered with a 10-0 run to grab a 37-33 lead, and the Dream went to the break up 39-37.

Then the floor tilted. Atlanta led just 45-44 with 3:06 left in the third quarter when it ripped off eight straight points. Golden State scored once, and the Dream immediately went on an 11-0 run that carried into the fourth quarter. When the run finally ended, the scoreboard read 64-46 with nine minutes to play. That is a 19-2 avalanche in roughly four minutes of game time, and Golden State spent the rest of the night chasing.

Reese put an exclamation point on it with a 24-foot 3-pointer off a Jordin Canada assist with 4:15 left that made it 74-55. Atlanta's lead peaked at 21, and Golden State scored the last two baskets in garbage time to settle on the final margin.

The Third-Quarter Blitz

The Dream won the third quarter 21-9. That is the game. Golden State had no answer for Atlanta's pressure, the turnovers piled up, and every Valkyries miss seemed to turn into a Dream run-out. Atlanta finished with 19 fast-break points. Golden State finished with zero.

Reese Takes Over the Series

Reese went 10 of 16 from the field, made her only 3-point try, and went 9 of 11 at the line. Add three assists and two blocks, and it was a complete takeover after a quiet finish to Game 1, when she was scoreless in the second half. Per the AP, Reese is now the third player to reach at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in one Finals game, after Connecticut's Jonquel Jones in 2019 and Seattle's Breanna Stewart in 2020.

"For me, I think I let my team down last game not really contributing as much as I could in the second half," Reese said. "Not even just about scoring, my screen quality, me hustling and running to get rebounds, just doing the things that they know me to do."

She had help. Rhyne Howard scored only five points, but she set a Finals record with six steals, according to the AP. Allisha Gray added 18 points and went 7 of 8 at the line. Canada posted a double-double with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and DeWanna Bonner came off the bench for nine points and four steals. As a team, Atlanta had 14 steals.

"She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game," Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said of Reese. "We let everyone kind of have their way."

Stokes grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots but did not score. Gabby Williams, who carried Golden State with 26 in Game 1, finished with 14 points on 3-of-15 shooting, though she made all seven of her free throws. Tiffany Hayes added 14, Veronica Burton had 11 and Kaila Charles hit three 3s for nine points, and Kaitlyn Chen chipped in eight on 3-of-4 shooting off the bench. The Valkyries shot 21 of 61 overall and 7 of 24 from deep.

"We shot terribly," Burton said. "We missed shots that we make all the time."

Run, Steal, Repeat

• 24: Atlanta's points off Golden State's 19 turnovers, after the Dream managed just eight off turnovers in Game 1.
• 19-0: Fast-break points. Atlanta ran; Golden State watched.
• 30 of 35: Atlanta's free throw shooting, compared with 16 of 19 for Golden State.
• 14: Atlanta's steals, with Howard grabbing six.
• 19-2: The run that bridged the third and fourth quarters and decided the night.

Split Decision, Heading South

The series is tied 1-1 and heads to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4. The Dream usually play at Gateway Center Arena, which seats just 3,500, but Games 3 and 4 move to the Hawks' State Farm Arena, with room for more than 17,000.

For Golden State, this was a jolt. Per the AP, Golden State had not lost a game in regulation since falling 73-70 at Chicago on Aug. 21, and by our count of the playoff results, it was their first home loss of the postseason after going 5-0 at Chase Center. Per the AP, every Valkyries game at the 18,064-seat Chase Center has been a sellout since the franchise debuted last year. Monday night, that crowd went home quiet.

For Atlanta, the formula is back. "We just got back to our identity about who we are and kept our foot on the pedal," Reese said. "We didn't let up and everybody was just on the same page, we had each other's back. That's just Atlanta basketball."

Pull Up and Pop Out

Every great playoff series needs a moment where the star stops asking for permission. Reese had hers on Monday, and she is not giving the microphone back anytime soon. Game 2 felt like the part of a sports movie where the music swells, except Atlanta skipped the training montage and went straight to the triumphant scene in front of 18,064 people.

Reese, naturally, got the last word, with a message for the home crowd waiting back in Georgia: "Atlanta, y'all better pull up and pop out, I'm looking forward to it."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and historical notes as reported by the Associated Press via WNBA.com.