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Dream Force Game 7: Atlanta Beats Golden State 80-69 in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals

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The Atlanta Dream are not done yet.

Facing elimination in front of a sold-out State Farm Arena, Atlanta beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 in Game 6 of the 2026 WNBA Finals on Thursday, tying the series 3-3 and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7.

Atlanta set the tone in the first quarter and never gave it back. The Dream outscored Golden State 32-15 in the opening period, the most points either team has scored in a quarter in these Finals, hitting six 3-pointers in the frame. Atlanta kept pushing in the second quarter, outscoring the Valkyries 14-11 to take a 46-26 lead into halftime, the largest halftime lead of the series. The Dream led by as many as 25 points.

Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range, with two steals and three blocks. Gray, who has played through a hand injury in this series, said at halftime that she was not ready for her season to be over, and she closed the game like it, hitting a 3-pointer off an Angel Reese assist with 56 seconds left to push the lead back to 80-69 after Golden State had cut it to eight.

Rhyne Howard added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, making four 3-pointers. Reese finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for her fourth double-double of the series. Reese hit two 3-pointers, and after her second, a catch-and-shoot triple that made it 74-55 in the fourth quarter, she celebrated with her tongue out and three fingers up on each hand. Jordin Canada added 10 points, and Naz Hillmon had seven points and five rebounds. Atlanta made 13 3-pointers as a team and shot 43.3 percent from deep.

Golden State won both the third quarter, 21-17, and the fourth, 22-17, and kept chipping away behind Gabby Williams. Williams scored a game-high 26 points with three rebounds, three steals and seven made free throws, doing most of her damage after halftime. Tiffany Hayes added 15 points for the Valkyries, Cecilia Zandalasini scored nine, and Veronica Burton had eight points, six rebounds and four assists. Kiah Stokes, the Game 5 standout, was held scoreless with seven rebounds as Golden State shot just 31.4 percent from the field.

The series is now tied 3-3. Game 7 is Saturday, October 31 at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco, on USA Network and Peacock. One game will decide the 2026 WNBA championship, and a first title for whichever franchise wins it.

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Season on the Line: Dream Host Valkyries in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals

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9 hours ago

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October 29, 2026

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The Atlanta Dream’s season comes down to one afternoon. Today at 12:30 p.m. ET, the Dream host the Golden State Valkyries in Game 6 of the 2026 WNBA Finals at a sold-out State Farm Arena, trailing the series 3-2 and facing elimination. Win, and Atlanta forces a Game 7 on Saturday night at Chase Center. Lose, and Golden State celebrates the first championship in franchise history on Atlanta’s floor.

The unusual tip time is part of the story. Game 6 was originally set for 8 p.m., but State Farm Arena belongs to the Atlanta Hawks tonight, who host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8, so the Finals matinee was moved up to give crews time to turn the building over. Neither team is using the early start as an excuse. As Valkyries center Kiah Stokes put it, “It’s a close-out game… we have to win. It’s do or die.”

Golden State put itself in this position with a 64-55 win in Game 5, grinding Atlanta down to 29 percent shooting in the lowest-scoring game of the series. Rhyne Howard carried the Dream with 20 points, while Angel Reese was held to a series-low seven points, though she still pulled down 15 rebounds. Reese called the night “frustrating” but was clear afterward about where her team stands: “I still believe in our team. I still believe that we can win this and one game at a time.”

The Dream’s problem has a name, and it is Stokes. The Valkyries center has recorded three or more blocks in five consecutive Finals games, tying a league record held by Lisa Leslie, and she added a playoff-high 13 points in Game 5. She has played her way into the Finals MVP conversation by anchoring a defense that has held Atlanta to 62 points or fewer in back-to-back games.

Atlanta does have one card left to play: home court, and the memory of what happened here earlier in this series. In Game 3 at State Farm Arena, the Dream ran Golden State off the floor, 97-71, the most lopsided game of the Finals. The building will be full again today, close to 17,000 strong, for a series that has already become the most-watched WNBA Finals in league history.

For Golden State, the math is simple: one more win gives a second-year franchise a title. For Atlanta, the math is simpler still: win today, and the season lives. Tip is 12:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, streaming on Peacock.

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