Dream get ‘swagger back’ to earn WNBA championship shot
Atlanta’s major professional sports teams have played a collective 206 seasons. They have three league championships to show for it. That number is dwarfed by the number of bitter disappointments and unbelievable collapses.
There were moments Thursday when it felt like the Dream would add their name to that list.
They staggered the Valkyries from the start of Game 6, but they were wobbling near the end. The Dream’s 19-point lead was down to eight with a minute to play.
Surely, they wouldn’t become the latest Atlanta team to blow their big chance.
A collective exhale filled State Farm Arena when Allisha Gray made a corner 3-pointer. The Dream went on to beat Golden State 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA finals.
They will play for the title Saturday in San Francisco.
“There is a mentality right now that, yeah, we are happy we won, but we know the job is not done,” Dream coach Karl Smesko said. “We have one more game. We’ve got a great opportunity. We expect to go out there and play great.”
The Dream will come home as champions if they can figure out how to bottle the opening minutes of Game 6 and take it with them.
They staggered Golden State with a 31-8 first-quarter run. The Dream pushed the pace at every opportunity, played inside-out in the half-court and defended with vigor and coordinated precision.
The Valkyries couldn’t handle the opening flurry. They came to Atlanta with an opportunity to clinch the championship. The Dream made sure they never really had a chance.
Golden State pushed the Dream to the brink of elimination with victories in Games 4 and 5. Both times, the Valkyries started faster than Atlanta. This time, the Dream took it to them from the start.
“I think it started with us being able to have a players-only meeting … and talking through things and getting our confidence back, getting our swagger back,” Angel Reese said. “Naz (Hillmon) has really emphasized, ‘Remember who you are. All of us have been superstars on a team at some point, and you’ve maximized and done things that led to winning.
“We needed the best of every single person.”
That’s what the Dream got.
Allisha Gray underwent a medical procedure on her left (shooting) hand before the Finals. She finally looked like herself in Game 6. Gray scored 23 points on just 12 shots. She was also a menace on defense, grabbing three blocks and two steals.
Dream guard Rhyne Howard (21 points) made 4-of-6 3-point tries and all five free throws. Reese led the defensive effort, as usual, and collected 14 rebounds. Everyone shared the ball: Atlanta recorded 19 assists on 27 field goals.
That’s the Dream’s brand of basketball. It went missing during their 64-55 loss in Game 5.
“We played with a different spacing and pace,” Smesko said. “In truth, it’s how we are supposed to play. So, it was just getting back to our fundamentals of how we like to play offense.”
The Dream offered several snapshots of what that looks like during their opening surge.
Reese faked a shot before driving and scoring a 3-point play against Kiah Stokes, who held her in check during Games 4 and 5. The Valkyries committed a shot clock violation after Gray blocked a shot. Reese rebounded her own miss and passed out for a 3-pointer by Gray that pushed the lead to 17-5.
The Dream ran out to a 28-10 lead after Jordin Canada’s steal and layup, two 3s by Howard and another 3 pointer by Hillmon on a pass from Isobel Borlase. The Dream led 31-10 at the end of the first quarter and 46-26 at halftime.
The Valkyries struggled to find space on the perimeter. They were met with resistance on nearly every drive. Maybe they were still on Pacific Time for the 12:30 tip.
“They played at the same time as us, right?” Valkyries guard Gabby Williams asked. “So, it’s not an excuse. We have to be better.”
The Valkyries didn’t give in. They outscored the Dream 43-34 after halftime. Golden State went on a 12-4 run before Gray’s 3-pointer finally put them away.
The Dream’s remarkable run will continue. They’d never won a Finals game before this year. They lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three years.
The outlook changed when the Dream traded for All-Star Reese before this season while giving up no players in return. She provided needed toughness and leadership. Reese helped hold the team together after they lost Game 5 while struggling to score and losing their composure over the few whistles for contact.
“I always told the girls, ‘It’s not going to rain forever,’” Reese said. “We were able to maximize that moment today and the sun peeked out a little more today and gave us the opportunity to see Game 7.”
The Dream are headed back to San Francisco with a chance to add their name alongside the Braves and United as Atlanta’s championship teams.
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