Angel Reese scores 30 as Dream even WNBA Finals against Valkyries
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Angel Reese scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 in Game 2.
- The win ties the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 1-1. It is the first Finals win in Dream history.
- Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta. The next two games move to the bigger State Farm Arena.
The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 on Monday night. Angel Reese led the way with 30 points and 16 rebounds. The win evens the 2026 WNBA Finals at one game each.
The game took place at Chase Center in San Francisco. It was the second game of a best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games first takes the title.
What happened
The Dream started strong and never let go. They outscored the Valkyries in the third quarter. They finished the quarter on a 15-2 run.
That gave them a double-digit lead. The Valkyries never came back.
Angel Reese was the star of the night. She made 10 of 16 shots. She also hit one three-pointer.
She grabbed 16 rebounds. She added three assists and two blocks. She played almost 34 minutes.
Reese made history with the performance. Only two other players have scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a Finals game. They are Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart.
Jones did it in 2019. Stewart did it in 2020.
Her teammates helped too. Allisha Gray scored 18 points. She made three three-pointers.
Jordin Canada added 13 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals.
The Valkyries struggled all night. Gabby Williams was their hero in Game 1 with 26 points. In Game 2 she scored only 14 points.
She made just 3 of 15 shots. The whole team shot 34.4 percent. They made only 7 of 24 three-pointers.
The Dream scored 24 points off the Valkyries' 19 turnovers. Defense won the game. The loss was Golden State's first in regulation since August 21.
Why it matters
This win is huge for Atlanta. The Dream had never won a Finals game before. They were 0-10 in Finals games across three previous trips.
Now that streak is over.
Reese said the Game 1 loss pushed her. The Dream led Game 1 by five points going into the fourth quarter. They then scored only eight points in the final quarter.
They lost 68-64 on Saturday.
"I was hungry," Reese told reporters after Game 2, according to Bleacher Report. "I wanted one. I think we let one slip away.
"
In Game 1, Reese scored 14 points in the first half. She took only two shots in the final two quarters. Head coach Karl Smesko later said the team did not get her the ball enough.
That changed in Game 2. Reese scored 15 of her 30 points in the second half.
Foul trouble almost hurt the Dream. Rhyne Howard got her fourth foul late in the first half. Reese got her third foul in the second quarter.
The coach told her to calm down on camera. She still finished strong.
The Valkyries play in a loud home arena. Fans call Chase Center "Ballhalla. " It holds 18,064 people.
Every Valkyries game there has sold out. Stealing a win there is a big deal.
"This environment is tough to play in. Shoutout to the fans. Shoutout my team, though," Reese said, according to the Associated Press.
"We came and fought. I mean, that Game 1 was tough for us. But we moved on.
"
What happens next
Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta. The series now moves to Georgia. The Dream will host the next two games.
But not at their usual home. The games move to State Farm Arena. That is the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
It holds more than 17,000 fans. The Dream's normal home, Gateway Center Arena, holds only 3,500. More fans can attend.
Reese is ready for the big crowd. "Atlanta, y'all better pull up and pop out; I'm looking forward to it," she said, according to Al Jazeera.
The Valkyries must fix their shooting. Point guard Veronica Burton was honest after the game. "We shot terribly," she said.
"We missed shots that we make all the time. "
Valkyries center Kiah Stokes praised Reese. "She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game," Stokes said. "We let everyone kind of have their way.
"
This series is now a best-of-five. Both teams need three more wins. The Dream have momentum.
The Valkyries have the better defense on most nights.
One more thing to watch is the crowd size. The Atlanta games will have more than 17,000 fans. That is a first for a Dream home game.
Big crowds can lift a team. Game 3 will test that.
The big picture
The 2026 WNBA Finals is living up to the hype. Game 1 was a defensive battle that Golden State won 68-64. Game 2 was an Atlanta answer. The series is tied 1-1 with everything still to play for.
Reese joined elite company with her 30-point, 16-rebound game. She now has a Finals performance to match her big reputation. She grew up in Baltimore County and starred at LSU before joining the league.
For fans, the question is simple. Can the Dream win at home with a huge crowd behind them? Can the Valkyries fix their shooting before Game 3? Wednesday will give the first answers.
The Valkyries' run to the Finals in just their second season is one of the stories of the year. Now the Dream have answered with history of their own. The best-of-seven is a best-of-five now.
For more on this weekend's biggest games, see how Purdy set the all-time passer rating record on Monday night, how McLaurin was carted off with a knee injury, and the latest on Davante Adams' hamstring injury.
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