Dream vs. Valkyries: Angel Reese Powers 97-71 Rout in WNBA Finals Game 3 as Atlanta Takes 2-1 Lead

The WNBA Finals moved to the big building in Atlanta, Ludacris showed up, and the Dream made the whole thing look like a coronation rehearsal.

Angel Reese posted 21 points and 12 rebounds, Rhyne Howard added 16 points and five steals, and the Atlanta Dream demolished the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena. Atlanta leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, and Golden State did not hold a lead for a single second of the night.

Golden State Couldn't Find the Rim, Then Couldn't Find a Stop

The opening minutes were an advertisement for Atlanta's defense. Golden State bricked its first eight shots, Atlanta jumped out 9-1, and the Valkyries did not get a field goal until Aminata Gueye scored with 4:39 left in the first quarter. Golden State scrapped back within 13-10. Naz Hillmon answered with consecutive 3s, Reese added one, and Atlanta led 23-15 after one.

The second quarter turned into a 3-point shootout. Atlanta stretched the lead to 37-26 midway through the period, but Golden State hung around behind Janelle Salaun, who had 11 points in the first half, and trailed only 46-40 at the break. The teams combined to go 15 for 31 from deep in the first half, which, per the Associated Press, was more made 3s in those 20 minutes than in either of the first two games. Then the Valkyries opened the second half by pulling within a point at 46-45, finishing an 8-0 run that started in the final seconds of the second quarter.

That was the last time this felt like a series.

Atlanta's Third-Quarter Hammer

The game was tied at 49 midway through the third when the Dream ripped off eight straight points, four of them from Reese. Golden State clawed within 59-55 on a Tiffany Hayes layup, and then Atlanta simply closed the door, scoring 12 of the final 14 points of the quarter to lead 71-57.

This is becoming the most predictable plot twist in the Finals. Per the AP, Atlanta has now outscored Golden State 63-35 combined in the third quarter across the three games. Whatever the Dream's coaching staff is saying at halftime, they should trademark it.

The fourth quarter was a victory lap. The highlight came with the Dream up 17: a Jordin Canada pass on a break sailed past Reese, who tracked it down and flipped it over her head to Howard under the basket, and Howard drew a foul. It was that kind of night. Atlanta won the quarter 26-14, emptied the bench late, and finished with its biggest lead of the night at the final horn.

Reese Keeps Stacking Double-Doubles

Reese was efficient and relentless: 7 of 12 from the field, 2 of 2 from 3, 5 of 5 at the line, with three assists and three steals. She had 15 of her points in the first half, per the AP, and now has a double-double in every game of the Finals. Two days after her 30-point, 16-rebound Game 2 that gave the franchise its first Finals win ever, she looked like a player who had found her rhythm on the biggest stage.

"It feels good when you're in the finals," Reese said. "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 you live for, this is what the offseason is for."

Howard scored 16 with four assists and five steals, and she went 7 of 10 at the line. Hillmon added 15 on 6-of-10 shooting, Isobel Borlase gave Atlanta 12 off the bench with a game-best plus-21, and Canada had 10 points and eight assists. Atlanta piled up 26 assists, the kind of ball movement that makes opposing coaches go pale.

"Protect home court," Howard said of the focus. "Giving our fans a show. We fought for this arena so we had to protect it."

For Golden State, Gabby Williams scored 15 but needed 18 shots and had four turnovers to go with eight assists. Hayes added 14 off the bench, and Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini each scored 13, combining to go 7 of 10 from 3. That was the problem. The Valkyries made 12 3-pointers and still lost by 26, because everything else went wrong.

Paint by Numbers

• 44-20: Atlanta's advantage in points in the paint. The Dream lived at the rim.
• 22-7: Points off turnovers. Golden State coughed it up 17 times.
• 26 to 19: Atlanta's edge in assists.
• 13-5: Atlanta's fast-break advantage.
• 34 of 69: Atlanta's shooting, 49 percent from the field.

Home Sweet (Bigger) Home

Atlanta leads 2-1 and has Game 4 at home on Saturday, also at State Farm Arena. The building itself is part of this story. Game 3 was first slated for Thursday at Gateway Center Arena, the Dream's usual home, which seats only 3,500. Instead, the league and the Atlanta Hawks moved Games 3 and 4 to State Farm Arena, which holds more than 17,000, and Wednesday's game sold out.

By our count of the season's results, Atlanta is now 4-0 at home this postseason and 7-1 overall in the playoffs. Golden State, which swept the Las Vegas series, has now lost back-to-back games for the first time this postseason, and it needs a serious answer for the Dream's third-quarter blitz before Saturday.

The audience is clearly showing up for this one, too. Per the AP, NBC's Game 1 broadcast averaged 2.1 million viewers, more than any first game of the Finals had ever drawn, and USA Network's Game 2 averaged 1.33 million.

Welcome to Atlanta

There is an Atlanta anthem for nights like this, and it is called Welcome to Atlanta. The Valkyries got the full tour: a sold-out arena, a celebrity crowd, a parade of 3s and layups, and a third quarter that looked like a sprint for one team and a stroll for the other.

Reese, never one to undersell a moment, had already moved on to Saturday. "I put the work in for this moment and I'm just happy I could lead the team to a win. We're feeling good going into Saturday."

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