The Golden State Valkyries' first shot at a championship slipped away in Atlanta on Thursday. The Atlanta Dream won Game 6 of the WNBA Finals 80-69 at State Farm Arena, tying the series 3-3 and forcing a deciding Game 7 in San Francisco.
The game tipped off at 9:30 a.m. Pacific, an unusually early start because the arena had an NBA game that night, so much of the Bay Area watched from offices, bars and the free watch party at Salesforce Park.
What went wrong
Golden State made 22 of 70 shots (31%) and 7 of 27 three-pointers, according to the ESPN box score. Atlanta shot 44% and hit 13 of 30 threes. The Dream also blocked eight shots to the Valkyries' two.
Gabby Williams led Golden State with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting, and Tiffany Hayes added 15. For Atlanta, Allisha Gray scored 23, Rhyne Howard 21 and Angel Reese 15 with 14 rebounds.
The Standard's live blog noted that the Valkyries had scored at least 62 points in all 44 regular-season games, and that their 64-55 Game 5 win Monday at Chase Center had been their lowest output of the playoffs. Golden State trailed by 20 points at halftime, The Standard reported, and Nakase gave her starters extra rest with a quick turnaround for Game 7.
Game 7
The Valkyries will host Game 7 on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Chase Center, The Standard reported. Chase Center rescheduled concerts by Rod Wave and Doja Cat so the team could play its postseason home games as planned. The winner takes the 2026 WNBA title.
Earlier: how Natalie Nakase's lineup switch turned the series.