Angel Reese recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 overnight to take a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.
Rhyne Howard added 16 points and Naz Hillmon had 15 for the Dream, who host Game 4 on Saturday.
It was the second straight strong game for Reese, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, which the Dream also won for their first victory ever in the finals. She becomes the first player in WNBA history to record a double-double in her first three Finals games.
Dream take control in the third quarter
With the game level at 49-49 in the third quarter, Atlanta scored eight straight points, including four by Reese. Golden State got within 59-55 on Tiffany Hayes‘ layup, but could get no closer as Atlanta closed the quarter by scoring 12 of the final 14 points.
Atlanta have dominated the third quarter so far in the series, outscoring Golden State 63-35 combined in the three games.
With Atlanta up 17 in the fourth quarter, Jordin Canada overthrew Reese on the break, but she saved the ball by throwing it over her head underneath the basket to Howard, who got fouled.
Golden State could never recover. Gabby Williams scored 15 points and Hayes added 14 for the Valkyries.
Bigger venue for the Finals
This game was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday at the Gateway Center Arena, where the Dream play most of their home games. The league was able to work with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena to play the next two games of the championship series there so that they could have a much bigger crowd. Gateway seats only 3,500, while State Farm Arena can seat more than 17,000 fans.
Wednesday night’s game was sold out, as is Game 4 on Saturday, which will also be played at State Farm Arena.
Atlanta start fast and shoot well from deep
The game got off to a slow start as Atlanta led 9-1 after the first five minutes. Golden State missed its first eight shots before Aminata Gueye scored the first basket for the Valkyries with 4:39 left. They got within 13-10 before Hillmon hit consecutive three-pointers and Reese then hit one. The Dream led 23-15 after the opening quarter.
The hot three-point shooting continued in the second quarter as Atlanta built its lead to 37-26 midway through the period. Golden State was able to hang around and trailed only 46-40 at the break as the teams combined to shoot 15-for-31 (48 per cent) from behind the arc. That was more made three-pointers in the first 20 minutes than in either Game 1 or Game 2.