The Atlanta Dream were four points away from winning their first WNBA Finals game in years, but their offense failed them when it mattered most. Golden State Valkyries beat Atlanta 68-64 in Game 1 on October 17, ending the Dream’s five-game playoff winning streak. Atlanta led for most of the night but could not find a way to score in the closing minutes. Head coach Karl Smesko knows his team came close, and he believes the Dream can respond when the best-of-seven series continues in Game 2 on Monday.
Karl Smesko Explains Atlanta Dream’s Fourth-Quarter Struggles Against Golden State Valkyries
Atlanta had control for much of the game, but its offense fell apart in the fourth quarter. The Dream scored only eight points in the final period and struggled to find good shots against Golden State’s defense. They also missed several chances from beyond the three-point line.Smesko admitted that his team made mistakes but remained proud of its effort.“We’re gonna look at everything we’re gonna watch and try to get better, but, I mean, we were right there, right there,” Smesko said in the postgame press conference.“So that’s why it hurts a little bit, but it also motivates us. We know what we’re capable of doing. We’ll have one day to get ourselves as ready as possible, and then I think we’ll play even better.”The Dream had a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the final minute. With 23.8 seconds left, Atlanta trailed by two points. However, the team could not turn that opportunity into a basket. Allisha Gray missed a late three-pointer, and Golden State held on to win.Smesko also pointed to the problems on both ends of the court.“Unfortunately, we had one bad defensive quarter where we had a few breakdowns and then one bad offensive quarter in the fourth where we turned it over and didn’t have the kind of shot quality that we wanted, but I’m really proud of our team’s effort,” he said.Golden State’s Gabby Williams led all scorers with 26 points. She made all six of her free throws in the final stretch, helping the Valkyries close out the game. No other Golden State player scored in double figures.
Angel Reese and Allisha Gray Struggle to Find Late Points for Atlanta Dream
Angel Reese gave Atlanta an excellent start, scoring 11 points in the first quarter on five-of-six shooting. However, she could not make another field goal for the rest of the game. Reese finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.Gray, who returned after missing time with a hand injury, led Atlanta with 19 points. She made five of her 19 field-goal attempts and went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Rhyne Howard added 12 points but also struggled with her shooting.The Dream finished the game shooting 32.8% from the field and made only four of their 25 three-point attempts. Their shooting problems became especially costly late in the game, when they needed just a few baskets to take control.Smesko said some of the missed shots were good chances that simply did not fall.“Well, some of them were good. Some of them, they had us well-defended when we were getting late on the clock. But we had a couple what I would call good looks just didn’t go down for us. Naz Hillmon had a good look at 3. RhyneHoward had a good look at 3. We knock down either of those; we’re not talking about whatever mistakes we made.”The defeat was another painful result for Atlanta in the Finals. The Dream swept the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty to reach their first championship series since 2013. They have now lost all 10 games they have played in WNBA Finals history.Game 2 takes place on October 19 at Chase Center in San Francisco. Atlanta will need better shooting and fewer mistakes if it hopes to level the series before returning home.
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