Reese and the Dream rout the Valkyries 97-71 for a 2-1 WNBA Finals lead

Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday night as the Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena. Atlanta leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 and hosts Game 4 on Saturday in the same building.

Rhyne Howard added 16 points and five steals, and Naz Hillmon scored 15 on 6-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers, according to the ESPN box score. Isobel Borlase had 12 points off the bench and Jordin Canada handed out eight assists. Reese shot 7 of 12, made both of her 3-point tries and went 5 for 5 at the line.

Atlanta never trailed. Golden State missed its first eight shots and didn't get a field goal until Aminata Gueye scored with 4:39 left in the first quarter, per the Associated Press. The Dream led 23-15 after one and 46-40 at halftime, after the teams combined to make 15 of 31 3-pointers in the first half.

The third quarter decided it again. With the score tied 49-49, Atlanta scored eight straight points, four of them from Reese. Tiffany Hayes got Golden State within 59-55 on a layup, but the Dream scored 12 of the last 14 points of the quarter. Atlanta has outscored Golden State 63-35 in third quarters across the three games, AP noted. The lead reached 26 in the fourth.

Golden State shot 24 of 69 (35%) and turned the ball over 15 times, and Atlanta scored 22 points off those giveaways. The Dream also won the paint 44-20. Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 15 points and eight assists but shot 5 of 18. Hayes scored 14, and Cecilia Zandalasini and Janelle Salaun had 13 apiece.

The WNBA said Reese is averaging 21.7 points and 13.3 rebounds through three Finals games. She had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, which was the Dream's first Finals win.

The game was moved from Gateway Center Arena, where the Dream play most home games and which seats about 3,500, to State Farm Arena so more fans could get in. Attendance was 17,099, and AP reported that Game 4 is also sold out.

What to watch Saturday: Golden State won the opener 68-64 and has lost twice since, and it needs a cleaner offensive game to avoid falling one loss from elimination. A home win would put Atlanta one victory from its first WNBA championship.