SAN FRANCISCO — As a playoff series goes on and teams lock in on each other’s tendencies, it becomes harder to create separation. The defense knows which moves to anticipate. Scoring becomes a grind.
It was hard to imagine that even this WNBA Finals, when scoring has already been at an absolute premium, would follow that pattern.
But Game 5 was indeed the grimiest contest of this slugfest of a series, and that means advantage Golden State Valkyries. The Valkyries are one win away from a WNBA championship in their second season after a 64-55 victory in Monday night’s Game 5, which they earned by forcing Atlanta into 29.2 percent shooting and 15 turnovers.
The league’s best defensive team looked the part once again. The lowest-scoring game of these playoffs before Monday was 60 points (by the Las Vegas Aces against Golden State). The Dream obliterated that mark in the wrong direction, barely topping 50 points with 1:04 remaining. Atlanta put up 97 points on 34-of-69 shooting in its Game 3 win but has made only 37 field goals since.
Game 6 will take place in Atlanta at 12:30 p.m. (ET) Thursday after being moved up in order to play at State Farm Arena, which is considerably larger, to accommodate more fans than the Dream’s home of Gateway Center.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Atlanta Dream, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA
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