Atlanta Returns Home Trailing 3-2, Needing Two Straight Wins to Capture First Championship
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | October 27, 2026
The Atlanta Dream are one loss away from seeing their championship hopes come to an end.
After taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, Atlanta has dropped two consecutive games to the Golden State Valkyries, including Monday night’s 64-55 defeat at Chase Center. The loss gives Golden State a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series and sends the Dream home facing elimination in Thursday’s Game 6 at State Farm Arena.
For a franchise seeking its first WNBA championship, the challenge is clear. Atlanta must win Thursday to force a deciding Game 7. Another loss would end a postseason run that carried the Dream to their first Finals appearance since 2013.
The immediate concern is an offense that has struggled to produce against Golden State’s relentless defense.
After scoring 97 points in a commanding Game 3 victory, Atlanta managed just 62 in Game 4 and 55 in Game 5. The 42-point decline over two games illustrates how dramatically the momentum has shifted.
Monday’s performance was particularly troubling. The Dream shot just 29.2 percent from the field, the fourth-lowest shooting percentage in WNBA Finals history, and connected on only 23.1 percent of their three-point attempts.
Atlanta managed just three field goals in the second quarter and went more than five minutes without a basket in the fourth. Its 55 points were the fewest scored by a team in a Finals game since Phoenix in 2021.
“We just didn’t get as many good looks, especially in transition, as we want,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. “And then when we did work and get open shots, we shot a really poor percentage. We’ve got better shooters than that. We just got to be ready to knock down these shots when they become available.”
Howard Leads Atlanta as Scoring Struggles Continue
Rhyne Howard provided Atlanta’s strongest offensive performance, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Howard scored 11 points in the third quarter as the Dream attempted to overcome Golden State’s defensive pressure. She connected on seven of 15 field-goal attempts.
Her performance also moved her into second place in franchise history in two postseason categories: total points scored and playoff games with at least 20 points.
Jordin Canada added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Allisha Gray contributed 10 points.
Angel Reese, whose dominant performances helped Atlanta win Games 2 and 3, was held to seven points for the second consecutive game.
Although Reese struggled offensively, she continued to make her presence felt on the boards, collecting 15 rebounds and adding five assists.
The rebounding performance placed Reese in elite company. She became just the second player in WNBA Finals history to collect at least 60 rebounds in a single championship series, joining Sylvia Fowles, who recorded 75 during the 2017 Finals.
Naz Hillmon added a playoff career-high 11 rebounds.
Despite the team’s difficulties, Reese expressed confidence in Atlanta’s ability to recover.
“We’ve struggled making shots, but I still believe in our team,” Reese said. “I still believe that we can win this.”
Golden State Takes Control in Second Half
Unlike Game 4, when Atlanta fell behind early, the Dream remained competitive throughout the opening quarter Monday.
Atlanta led 14-13 after the first 10 minutes despite Reese picking up two early fouls.
Neither team established much offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Golden State took a 25-22 halftime lead as both clubs struggled to convert opportunities.
The Valkyries opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run, stretching their advantage to 32-24.
Atlanta responded behind Howard’s scoring and trimmed the deficit to 46-40 entering the fourth quarter.
But Golden State maintained control.
A 14-6 run spanning the final minutes of the third quarter and the opening minutes of the fourth pushed the Valkyries’ advantage to 52-42 following a three-pointer by Kiah Stokes with 7:21 remaining.
The Dream could not mount a sustained comeback. They did not get closer than nine points until Canada connected on a three-pointer with 16 seconds left.
Stokes and Veronica Burton led Golden State with 13 points apiece.
Stokes added eight rebounds and made five of six field-goal attempts, including three of four from beyond the arc.
Burton contributed eight rebounds and four blocked shots, tying the WNBA Finals record for blocks by a guard.
Valkyries’ Defense Rewrites the Record Book
Golden State’s defense has become the defining factor in the championship series.
Through five games, the Valkyries have recorded 37 blocked shots, the most by any team in a single WNBA Finals series.
Atlanta has also demonstrated strong interior defense, recording 22 blocks of its own. But Golden State’s ability to disrupt shots, challenge drives and limit scoring opportunities has been particularly damaging to the Dream during the past two games.
Turnovers have added to Atlanta’s difficulties, giving Golden State additional possessions and opportunities to score.
The Dream’s inability to establish a consistent transition offense has also reduced the easy scoring opportunities that helped produce their earlier victories.
The contrast is striking.
In Game 3, Atlanta overwhelmed Golden State with a balanced offensive attack, scoring 97 points and winning by 26.
Two games later, the Dream could not reach 60 points.
For Atlanta to extend the series, that trend must change.
Smesko Questions Physical Play and Officiating
The Dream’s frustration extended beyond missed shots.
Following Monday’s loss, Smesko criticized the amount of physical contact being permitted, particularly against Reese.
He described the contact allowed against her as “ridiculous” and also questioned missed violations during the game.
“We’re missing shots that we should make, but that (the officiating) needs to be a whole lot better than it was,” Smesko said. “And it’s time that if you push somebody with two hands as they drive, it’s got to be a foul. And I’m kind of tired of some of the excuses that I’m hearing.”
Reese also indicated that she noticed a change in how the games were being officiated beginning with Game 4.
The concerns reflect Atlanta’s growing frustration with the physical nature of the series.
Nevertheless, the Dream’s shooting difficulties remain an obstacle that must be addressed regardless of how Thursday’s game is officiated.
From Championship Momentum to Elimination
Just days ago, Atlanta appeared to be taking control of the Finals.
After dropping Game 1 in San Francisco, the Dream earned their first Finals victory in franchise history with a 79-65 win in Game 2.
Reese delivered a dominant 30-point, 16-rebound performance as Atlanta evened the series and gained home-court advantage.
The Dream followed with an even more convincing performance in Game 3, defeating Golden State 97-71 at State Farm Arena to take a 2-1 series lead.
At that point, Atlanta needed just two more victories to secure its first championship.
But Golden State responded.
The Valkyries won Game 4 in Atlanta, 67-62, before returning home and holding the Dream to their lowest offensive output of the series Monday night.
The two losses have reversed the championship momentum and left Atlanta with no margin for error.
Still, the Dream have already demonstrated they can defeat Golden State both at home and on the road.
The question now is whether they can rediscover the offensive balance, ball movement and confidence that produced those victories.
Two Wins Away From a Championship
Despite the disappointment of Monday’s loss, Smesko insisted that Atlanta’s championship ambitions remain intact.
“We just need to put a good offensive game together in this next game, and then we’ll be in position to do what we’re intending to do,” he said.
“Nothing’s changed. We win two games, we’re champions. That starts with the next game, and we’ll be locked in, and we’ll have a great game a couple of days from now.”
Atlanta returns to State Farm Arena knowing its season will be determined by what happens Thursday afternoon.
The Dream need better shooting, fewer turnovers and more consistent offensive production against a Golden State defense that has controlled much of the past two games.
They also need the contributions of the players who carried them through a memorable postseason and within reach of the franchise’s first championship.
For Golden State, Thursday presents an opportunity to finish the series.
For Atlanta, it represents an opportunity to extend a season that has already produced a historic breakthrough.
The Dream have no room left for another loss. But with two victories, they can still become WNBA champions.
Game 6 of the 2026 WNBA Finals is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
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