Valkyries switch things up, grind out Game 4 win to even WNBA Finals with Dream

ATLANTA — After getting outplayed in the previous two games of the WNBA Finals and a majority of Game 1, the Golden State Valkyries had to reevaluate their commitment to the identity that led them to the league's biggest stage.

A playoff series is all about adjustments, and it was time for the Valkyries to shake things up.

Down 2-1, Golden State busted out a full bag of new tricks, introducing just enough chaos to win 67-62 and tie the series at 2-all heading back to San Francisco. The Valkyries shifted their starting lineup for the first time this postseason, trimmed their rotation and played a heavier diet of zone in Game 4.

It resulted in Golden State winning the possession battle and keeping Atlanta out of transition. Sprinkle in some jumpers for the Valkyries' starting backcourt — Gabby Williams had a team-high 17 points, and Veronica Burton had a critical 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter — and the road team had just enough to eke out a win.

Golden State built a 16-point lead by halftime, but the Dream whittled the deficit down to two possessions at multiple points in the second half. One decisive sequence came with about four minutes remaining. Atlanta played excellent defense, but Burton hit a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to push the lead back to nine, and Angel Reese missed two open shots at the rim on the ensuing possession.

When the Dream cut the lead to five with 1:36 to play on a Reese lay-up, it was once again Burton who hit a fadeaway to extend the advantage back to seven and secure the win for the Valkyries.

"(Burton's) our heart and soul of the team," Golden State coach Natalie Nakase said. "She said, I got it, I got the isolation. She just attacked her matchup and closed it."

The Valkyries subbed out two of their underperforming starters (Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini) and reaped the rewards. Kaila Charles' energy helped Golden State set a strong tone early — Nakase likes to say that Charles is always on full throttle — and Tiffany Hayes getting downhill helped break Atlanta's defensive shell.

Charles was a team-high plus-14 in her 28 minutes and won her matchup with Naz Hillmon, keeping the Dream power forward from establishing herself offensively. Hayes scored 13 points, with seven coming in the fourth quarter as the Valkyries staved off another strong second-half effort from Atlanta. The Dream could keep everyone in front except Hayes, who repeatedly got to the basket and finished well.

"(Hayes) is a dawg, she's so fast," Williams said. "Her being able to come alive in that fourth quarter really sealed the game for us."

Zandalasini and Thornton still contributed off the bench. The Italian guard had her best game of the series with 10 points and three steals, finally making an impact defensively. After she entered the game in the first quarter, Golden State ripped off a 10-0 run, taking the lead for the remainder of the game.

Thornton had only 3 points but was part of a team effort to limit Reese, using her strength to affect the Atlanta superstar more than she had been able to in previous games.

"Just wanted to change it up," Nakase said. "The nice thing about our team is, I don't care who starts. No one cares. … We do that because we have a really selfless team, an egoless team."

Golden State has emphasized strength in numbers throughout the season, going deeper into its rotation than any other playoff team. The Valkyries have used 11 players in the first quarter of this series, a stark contrast to Atlanta, which has mostly relied on seven.

Game 4 marked a significant change in Golden State's approach. Laeticia Amihere and Aminata Gueye were excised from the rotation, and Janelle Salaün and Kaitlyn Chen combined for fewer than five minutes. The Valkyries essentially matched seven with seven. In doing so, they gave Atlanta no weak links to attack.

"Just did what it took to win," Nakase said about the short rotation.

Reese had dominated Golden State's backup centers, so Nakase didn't play them. Instead, she relied on more zone defense when Kiah Stokes was off the court in an attempt to deny the ball to Reese. The Dream were involving Chen in every offensive action when she was on the court, so she was limited to a two-minute stint to start the fourth quarter when Burton desperately needed a rest before the closing stretch.

Atlanta's offense had less flow to start the game without any obvious holes in the defense. It also helped that Zandalasini provided more defensive playmaking than she had in the first three games, taking the implicit message that her move to the bench was because of her earlier shortcomings on that end.

Atlanta fuels its offense with its defense, forcing turnovers to get out in transition. When that well dried up Saturday — Golden State committed nine turnovers leading to eight points — the Dream needed more scoring from its stars in the half court. That didn't happen.

Allisha Gray got in early foul trouble, picking up two fouls in the first four minutes and then picking up her third on the very next possession just as Atlanta was considering subbing her out. Coach Karl Smesko is more lenient with foul trouble than other WNBA coaches, often allowing his players to remain on the court to stay in rhythm. "They're keeping score for 40 minutes, so if you sit them out for 10 minutes, you may have protected them from fouling out, but you still were without them for 10 minutes," Smesko said earlier in the series.

Unfortunately for Gray, she never found her flow in the 22 minutes she played. She shot 1 of 7 from the field and missed all four of her 3-pointers, including an open look with 64 seconds to play that would have pulled the Dream within two.

Reese also had her worst game of the series, tallying 8 points on 2-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds. Stokes, who already has a WNBA Finals record with 14 blocks this series, has made things difficult for Reese, but the Atlanta center was also ineffective against Stokes' backups. In addition to her poor finishing, Reese also committed two offensive fouls. She only attempted one 3-pointer despite having more opportunities, allowing the Golden State defense to sit back.

As she did after Game 1, Reese was loath to give any credit to the Valkyries, instead taking the blame for her performance.

"I think it was me," Reese said. "I think I rushed a lot of my shots and I didn't take my time and finish around the basket like I've been doing the last two games. It happens, and I'm just looking forward to the next game."

Atlanta's most consistent source of offense has been getting to the foul line, but the Dream shot just 22 of 31 on free throws. As Reese noted postgame, if they made their foul shots, they would be headed back to Golden State up 3-1.

The tempo of Game 4 once again matched how the Valkyries want to play. They limited Atlanta's second-chance points and total field-goal attempts, with the Dream's shot total (54) their lowest of the series. Golden State was disciplined in holding on to the ball and preventing Atlanta from running in the open court.

The Valkyries also didn't try to run in transition themselves. Even though they turned over the Dream 18 times, they only attempted six shots on fast breaks, choosing instead to string out the shot clock. Nakase said pregame that they had been trying to punch too frequently in their two losses and needed to take a break. On Saturday, that led to them resetting their possessions rather than trying to keep pace with Atlanta.

It was fitting that Golden State's biggest shots of the game came late in the clock. The Valkyries' advantage comes from their patience. After the longest gap between games in this series, that patience has them even and once again with home-court advantage.

Atlanta Dream, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA