The Golden State Valkyries halted what appeared to be significant momentum for the Atlanta Dream toward their first championship by winning Game 4 to even up the WNBA Finals.
Tied at 2-2, the Finals now becomes a best-of-three series with two of those games on the Valkyries' home court at Chase Center in San Francisco, beginning with Monday's pivotal Game 5.
A key factor for Golden State in Game 4 was controlling Angel Reese. After recording double-doubles in each of the series' first three games, the Dream forward was held to 8 points and 9 rebounds with 6 turnovers. How she responds to that, and tough defense by the Valkyries' Kiah Stokes, could determine Atlanta's success for the next two to three games.
On the other side, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase changed the starting lineup for Game 4, swapping Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles for Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini. Considering how the tighter defense and increased pace created, Golden State will probably stick with that for Game 5. Meanwhile, Atlanta will try to find an answer for defending Gabby Williams (averaging 18 points per game).
Game 5 of the 2026 WNBA Finals between the Dream and Valkyries will begin Monday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC, also streaming on Peacock.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, news and highlights from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals: