ATLANTA -- Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals. Rhyne Howard added 16 points and Naz Hillmon had 15 for the Dream, who host Game 4 on Saturday.
It was the second straight strong game for Reese, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, which the Dream also won for their first victory ever in the Finals.
With the score tied at 49 in the third quarter, Atlanta scored eight straight, including four by Reese. Golden State got within 59-55 on Tiffany Hayes' layup but could get no closer as Atlanta closed the quarter scoring 12 of the final 14 points.
Atlanta has dominated the third quarter so far in the best-of-seven series, outscoring Golden State 63-35 combined in the three games.
With Atlanta up 17 in the fourth quarter, Jordin Canada overthrew Reese on the break, but she saved the ball by throwing it over her head underneath the basket to Howard, who got fouled.
Golden State could never recover. Gabby Williams scored 15 points and Hayes added 14 for the Valkyries.
Game 3 was originally scheduled to be played Thursday at the Gateway Center Arena, where the Dream play most of their home games. The league was able to work with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena to play the next two games of the championship series there to allow for a much bigger crowd. Gateway seats only 3,500. State Farm Arena can seat more than 17,000.
Wednesday night's game was sold out, as is Game 4 on Saturday. The crowd included many music stars, including Ludacris.
The game got off to a slow start as Atlanta led 9-1 after the first five minutes. Golden State missed its first eight shots before Aminata Gueye scored the first basket for the Valkyries with 4:39 left in the first quarter. They got within 13-10 before Hillmon hit consecutive 3-pointers and then Reese hit one. The Dream led 23-15 after the opening quarter.
The hot 3-point shooting continued in the second quarter as Atlanta built its lead to 37-26 midway through the period. Golden State was able to hang around and trailed only 46-40 at the break as the teams combined to shoot 15-for-31 (48%) from beyond the arc. That was more made 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes than in either Game 1 or Game 2.
Cecilia Zandalasini and WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Janelle Salaun each had 13 points for the Valkyries.
Games 1 and 2 had huge ratings, with the opener on NBC averaging 2.1 million viewers, the most ever to watch a first game of the Finals. Game 2, which was broadcast on USA Network, averaged 1.33 million viewers.
