The Atlanta Dream let Game 1 slip away Saturday, going scoreless over the final 3:12 as the Golden State Valkyries rallied for a 68-64 win in the WNBA Finals opener.
Gabby Williams scored 26 points, including six free throws in the final 2 minutes, to help the Valkyries take a 1-0 series lead.
Allisha Gray led the Dream with 19 points in her return from injury. Angel Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Rhyne Howard finished with 12 points. Jordin Canada contributed eight points and seven assists.
"Obviously a tough finish for us," Dream coach Karl Smesko said afterward. "I think it's the kind of game everybody expected. It was two teams competing as hard as they can."
Atlanta led 56-51 entering the fourth quarter and extended its advantage to seven on Howard's two free throws with 9:07 remaining. But the Dream scored just eight points in the quarter.
Howard's free throws with 3:12 left put Atlanta ahead 64-61. Williams answered with four straight free throws, giving Golden State a 65-64 lead with 1:18 remaining.
The Dream had opportunities to respond. Howard and Naz Hillmon missed 3-pointers before Kiah Stokes split two free throws with 23.8 seconds left. Gray then missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds remaining. Williams made two more free throws, and Gray missed again from beyond the arc in the closing seconds.
Neither team shot well. Atlanta finished 21 of 64 from the field and 4 of 25 from 3-point range. Golden State shot 25 of 78 overall and 7 of 33 from beyond the arc. The matchup features two of the WNBA's strongest defenses with six of the league's 10 All-Defensive selections in Atlanta's Reese, Howard and Canada, and Golden State's Williams, Burton and Stokes.
Gray went 5 of 19 from the field but made all eight of her free throws. Howard shot 3 of 14, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Stokes finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Golden State. Kaila Charles added seven points and 10 rebounds.
