Atlanta holds off furious Golden State comeback to force Game 7 in WNBA Finals

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The WNBA Finals are headed to a decisive Game 7 on Saturday night after the Atlanta Dream’s convincing victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday.

The Dream dominated the Valkyries from the very jump of Game 6, building the biggest first-quarter lead in WNBA Finals history and controlling things for much of the rest of the game, though things got a bit hairy as Golden State rallied in the fourth quarter.

The game finished 80-69 in favor of Atlanta.

Allisha Gray led the way for Atlanta with 23 points, including the dagger 3-pointer with about a minute to go that put Game 6 on ice. Rhyne Howard added 23 and Angel Reese had yet another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

The game tipped off to a loud crowd inside State Farm Arena, which was reportedly a sellout despite the tip-off happening a tick after 12:40 p.m. ET. The game had to be scheduled at the midday slot to ensure the Dream hosted a Finals game at Atlanta’s premier basketball venue rather than their typical home arena outside the city that seats around 3,500.

CNN’s Coy Wire caught up with a couple of Dream fans who made sure they were at the pivotal game instead of being stuck at the office.

“I had work today, but I took paid time off so they let me go,” Nyla James said.

Her friend Nailah Perry, also decked out in ATL gear, said she told her boss that “something came up” and that it was a “one-in-a-million” chance to support the team she loves, so she had to be at State Farm Arena.

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The early tip didn’t dampen the typical home-crowd energy level these teams play in front of.

“It is so loud in here. You can’t hear anything,” James told Wire. “Everybody came out to support the Dream. It is so amazing!”

The drama over where Game 6 would be played was quickly forgotten as the Dream started fast. A 13-0 run in the first quarter helped the Dream jump out to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes with Allisha Gray leading the way with eight points in the first seven minutes.

By the end of the first quarter, the lead had grown to 17 – the largest first-quarter lead in Finals history – on the back of the Dream’s 11-15 shooting, six of which were from 3-point range.

The lead grew in the second quarter as the Valkyries couldn’t quite find their shooting form, going 9-34 from the floor in the half.

The lead reached 25 at one point in the quarter, but Golden State made a run in the final minutes to make it 46-26 at halftime in favor of the Dream.

The tide did not turn after the halftime break as the Dream continued to dominate, and the game started to get chippy. Howard went up for a layup on a fast break and was on the receiving end of a hard foul by Veronica Burton, with the Golden State player knocking Howard to the ground after a blow to the face. Burton was whistled for a flagrant foul and the ensuing free throws rebuilt the Dream’s lead to 25.

By the end of the third quarter, the Valkyries had cut the Dream’s lead to 16 points with 10 minutes to go in the game.

As the heat started to turn up on the Dream in the fourth quarter with the Valkyries drawing within 13 at one point, a couple of big 3-point shots helped stymie the Golden State rally.

Gray and Angel Reese nailed shots from long range on successive possessions to rebuild the Dream’s lead to 19, bringing State Farm Arena to its collective feet. But that wasn’t enough to fully put away the Valkyries, who narrowed the lead to 12 with under three minutes to go.

As the game entered the final two minutes, Golden State ratcheted up the pressure. Gabby Williams’ fast-break layup fell and she was fouled in the process, leading to a free throw that brought the Dream’s lead to eight. Williams’ second-half surge was instrumental in making the game close after a quiet first half.

The Dream rebuilt the lead to 11 after Gray’s corner 3-pointer dropped with about a minute to go, and then Atlanta got a crucial stop on the next possession. The Valkyries decided to allow the clock to run down and the Dream could exhale.

Game 7 will be held at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

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在亚特兰大梦想队周四战胜金州女武神队后，WNBA总决赛将于周六晚进行决胜的第七场比赛。

从第六场比赛一开始，梦想队就压制了瓦尔基里队，在第一节就取得了WNBA总决赛历史上最大的领先优势，并在比赛的大部分时间里掌控了局面，尽管金州勇士队在第四节奋起直追，让比赛变得有些惊险。

比赛最终亚特兰大队以 80-69 获胜。

阿莉莎·格雷为亚特兰大队贡献了全队最高的23分，其中包括比赛还剩大约一分钟时投进的那记关键三分球，彻底锁定了第六场比赛的胜局。莱恩·霍华德也得到23分，安吉尔·里斯则再次拿下两双，贡献15分和14个篮板。

比赛在州立农场球馆内拉开帷幕，现场气氛热烈。据报道，尽管开球时间比美国东部时间下午12:40稍晚，但球馆依然座无虚席。为了确保梦想队能在亚特兰大这座顶级篮球场馆而非他们位于市郊、只能容纳约3500人的常规主场球馆进行总决赛，比赛不得不安排在中午时段进行。

CNN 的 Coy Wire 采访了几位梦想队的球迷，他们确保自己能够到场观看这场关键比赛，而不是待在办公室里。

“我今天本来要上班，但我请了带薪假，所以他们让我走了，”奈拉·詹姆斯说。

她的朋友奈拉·佩里也穿着亚特兰大队的队服，她说她告诉老板“临时有事”，这是支持她所爱球队的“百万分之一”的机会，所以她必须去州立农场体育馆。

乔纳森·巴赫曼/盖蒂图片社

提前开球并没有影响到这些球队主场球迷一贯的高昂热情。

“这里太吵了，什么都听不见，”詹姆斯告诉Wire。“大家都出来支持梦想队，真是太棒了！”

关于第六场比赛举办地点的争议很快就被抛诸脑后，梦想队开局迅猛。首节打出一波13-0的攻势，帮助梦想队在开局几分钟内就取得了两位数的领先优势，其中阿莉莎·格雷在前七分钟就砍下8分，领衔全队。

第一节结束时，领先优势扩大到 17 分——这是总决赛历史上第一节最大的领先优势——这得益于梦想队 15 投 11 中，其中 6 投是三分球。

第二节比赛中，由于女武神队始终找不到投篮手感，上半场34投仅9中，领先优势进一步扩大。

第四节比赛中，领先优势一度达到 25 分，但金州勇士队在最后几分钟发起反击，半场结束时以 46-26 领先梦想队。

中场休息后，比赛形势并未逆转，梦想队继续占据优势，比赛也开始变得火药味十足。霍华德快攻上篮时，遭到勇士队球员维罗妮卡·伯顿的恶意犯规，伯顿一拳击中霍华德面部​​后将其击倒在地。裁判吹罚伯顿恶意犯规，梦想队获得罚球机会，将领先优势扩大到25分。

第三节结束时，瓦尔基里队将梦想队的分差缩小到 16 分，比赛还剩 10 分钟。

第四节比赛，瓦尔基里队一度将比分追至仅差13分，梦想队开始感受到压力，但几个关键的三分球帮助球队遏制了金州勇士队的反扑。

格雷和安吉尔·里斯连续命中远投，帮助梦想队将领先优势扩大到19分，州立农场球馆全场沸腾。但这还不足以彻底击败瓦尔基里队，后者在比赛还剩不到三分钟时将分差缩小到12分。

比赛进入最后两分钟，金州勇士队加强了攻势。加比·威廉姆斯快攻上篮得手，并造成犯规，获得罚球机会，帮助梦想队将领先优势扩大到8分。威廉姆斯在下半场的爆发是扭转上半场沉寂局面的关键。

比赛还剩大约一分钟时，格雷在底角命中三分，梦想队将领先优势重新扩大到11分。随后，亚特兰大女武神队在下一次进攻中成功防守，成功阻止了梦想队的进攻。女武神队选择让比赛时间耗尽，梦想队也得以喘息。

第七场比赛将于周六晚上 8 点（美国东部时间）在旧金山大通中心举行。