Atlanta moved within two wins of its first WNBA championship by defeating the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena.
Angel Reese led the Dream with 21 points and 12 rebounds, helping Atlanta take a 2-1 series lead in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,099.
Reese, a three-time All-Star, recorded her third consecutive double-double in the Finals and became the youngest player in Finals history to achieve that feat.
She also joined A'ja Wilson as the only players to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive Finals games.
Reese described her determination to secure the championship and said her confidence had spread throughout the team.
"You're not taking this from us, and that's in my heart. I'm not letting you take this from us.
I think that confidence becomes contagious within the team. They feel that confidence too," Reese said.
Atlanta's offense improved significantly after two low-scoring games in San Francisco.
According to the game statistics, the Dream shot 49.3% from the field and made nine 3-pointers, both series highs, while delivering one of their strongest offensive performances of the postseason.
Reese said she expected the team to perform better on its home court and credited contributions throughout the roster.
"I knew it was coming, especially back home.
It feels good to be home on your own court and you've seen the basket that you shoot on every single day.
Everybody contributed from top to bottom. And when you shoot 49%, I mean, you win games," Reese said.
Rhyne Howard contributed 16 points, four assists and four rebounds.
She also became the first player in league history to record five steals in consecutive Finals games, according to the league records cited in the report.
Naz Hillmon added 15 points, DeWanna Bonner scored 12 off the bench, and Jordin Canada finished with 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
Atlanta's improved spacing and ball movement helped create more open scoring opportunities.
Howard said the Dream played with greater freedom and improved coordination during the victory.
"We definitely showed that we played a little more free tonight, and we got easier looks because of it.
We weren't stressed. We just let the game come to us, and we went out and we won," Howard said.
She also highlighted the team's movement and passing as important factors in its offensive performance.
"Our attention to detail, our spacing, making sure that we're moving, giving people the lanes to drive the ball, finding each other for open shots.
We were more together on that end of the floor and we were just feeding off of each other," Howard said.
Golden State struggled to maintain possession, committing 17 turnovers that Atlanta converted into 22 points.
The Valkyries had recorded 18 turnovers in their Game 2 loss, continuing a problem that limited their ability to compete offensively.
The Valkyries shot 34.8% from the field.
Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points, while Cecilia Zandalasini and Janelle Salaun scored 13 apiece.
Salaun's total marked her postseason high after her playing time had been reduced, and Tiffany Hayes contributed 14 points off the bench.
Hayes said Golden State failed to match Atlanta's determination and attributed the turnovers to mistakes that did not reflect the team's usual standards.
"I think this game, they wanted it more than us, and that's not who we are. That's not who we've been, and that's not how we got here.
The turnovers are a lot of us being undisciplined. Uncharacteristic of us," Hayes said.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase had expressed dissatisfaction with her team's Game 2 performance before Wednesday's matchup and said afterward that the players had struggled to combine individual efforts into a cohesive performance.
"Sometimes, promises aren't kept.
I think there's sometimes individual punches and some people with great spurts and some people with great energy.
But it's like, well, then how can we do it all together?" Nakase said.
Nakase acknowledged that the team showed determination but said it had not translated that effort into collective execution.
"The will is there, the want to is there, but the fight together, I'm missing—the piece of putting it together," Nakase said.
Atlanta's 49.3% shooting performance marked just the third time a team had shot better than 45% from the field against the Valkyries during the 2026 playoffs.
The Dream now lead the best-of-seven Finals series 2-1, with two more victories needed to claim the championship.
