The Atlanta Dream’s shooters finally found some daylight.
asserted
shooters → find → daylight
And as a result, the Dream’s goal of winning their first WNBA championship is still shining bright.
asserted
goal → win → championship
Allisha Gray scored 23 points and Rhyne Howard had 21 as the hot-shooting Dream held off Golden State’s late rally to take an 80-69 victory over the Valkyries in Game 6 on Thursday and pull even in the WNBA Finals.
asserted
Dream → score → Finals
The decisive Game 7 will be played at Golden State on Saturday night as each team seeks its first WNBA championship.
asserted
team → play → championship
After having their lowest scoring games of the Finals in losses in Games 4 and 5, the Dream enjoyed an offensive awakening when faced with the must-win mandate.
asserted
Dream → have → mandate
“It’s been frustrating for all of us not being able to shoot great ... and open shots that we have been getting, not hitting them at the right time,” said Atlanta’s Angel Reese, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
asserted
who → shoot → points
“And I always told the girls it’s not going to rain forever.
asserted
it → tell → girls
And we were able to maximize that moment today.
asserted
we → maximize → moment
The sun peaked out a little bit more today and gave us an opportunity to see Game 7.”
asserted
sun → peak → Game
That left Golden State with a 3-2 series lead and an opportunity to clinch the championship on Thursday.
asserted
That → leave → Thursday
Instead, the Dream claimed the defensive advantage and took commanding leads of 32-15 after the first quarter and 46-26 at halftime.
asserted
Dream → claim → halftime
“The way we started in the first quarter was unacceptable on our end,” Golden State guard Veronica Burton said.
asserted
Burton → start → end
“You can’t let that happen out of the gate.”
asserted
that → let → gate
After being held to 22 points in the first half of their Game 5 loss, the Dream matched that total in the first 6:30 of the opening quarter.
asserted
Dream → hold → quarter
“We knew they were going to be desperate,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said of the Dream.
asserted
Nakase → know → Dream
“For us not to match that is disappointing and frustrating.
asserted
match → match → that
The physicality is supposed to be up.
asserted
physicality → suppose → ?
You want to have that physicality.
asserted
You → want → physicality
You want to have that fight.
asserted
You → want → fight
You want to have that give-it-all mentality.
asserted
You → want → mentality
We just did not do that.”
asserted
We → do → that
On Wednesday, the Dream announced a sellout for Game 6 despite the much-criticized 12:30 p.m. EDT tipoff.
asserted
Dream → announce → tipoff
There were only scattered empty seats in the upper level despite concerns about work and school obligations hurting the turnout.
asserted
obligations → be → turnout
Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 26 points.
asserted
Williams → lead → points
Tiffany Hayes added 15.
asserted
Hayes → add → 15
The Valkyries stormed back in the final minutes, pulling to 77-66 on Laeticia Amihere’s two free throws with 1:57 remaining.
asserted
Valkyries → storm → 1:57
A late 3-pointer by Gray cut off the comeback attempt.
asserted
pointer → cut → attempt
Gray made 5 of 7 3s.
asserted
Gray → make → 3s
Howard made 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
asserted
Howard → make → arc
Much of the production came on 3s.
asserted
Much → come → 3s
Atlanta made 6 of 8 3s and 11 of 15 shots overall while racing to a 32-15 lead in the first quarter.
asserted
Atlanta → make → quarter
Dream coach Karl Smesko said his team reclaimed its proper pace on offense.
asserted
team → say → offense
“We played with a different spacing and pace,” Smesko said.
asserted
Smesko → play → spacing
“Like, in truth, it’s how we are supposed to play.
asserted
we → ’ → truth
So it is just getting back to, like, our fundamentals of how we like to play offense.
asserted
we → get → offense
And in the first half, you saw it be catching it ready to shoot.
asserted
it → see → it
After leading 6-5, the Dream pulled away with 13 unanswered points in a run that included two 3s from Jordin Canada.
asserted
that → lead → Canada
Reese joined the 3-point party with a shot from the corner in the second period.
asserted
Reese → join → period
The Dream improve to 16-0 when Reese has at least one 3.
asserted
Reese → improve → 3
While Atlanta’s sharp shooting continued for a 46-26 halftime lead, the Valkyries struggled.
asserted
Valkyries → continue → lead
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
