Stokes and Burton put Golden State one win from the WNBA title

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State did not need a large scoring total to move within one victory of a championship. It needed to make Atlanta work for nearly everything. The Valkyries won Game 5 of the WNBA Finals 64–55 on Monday at Chase Center, taking a 3–2 lead in the series behind the combined scoring, rebounding and shot blocking of Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton.

Stokes finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Burton also had 13 points and eight rebounds, adding four blocked shots. Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini scored 12 apiece, giving Golden State four double-figure scorers on a night when Atlanta could not turn enough of its possessions into made field goals. The Dream shot 19 for 65 from the floor, a 29.2 percent rate.

Game 6 will be Thursday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, with a start time that requires particular attention from Chicago viewers. The WNBA announced Monday that tipoff has moved to 12:30 p.m. Eastern, or 11:30 a.m. in Chicago. The league said the game will remain on USA Network and stream on Peacock. Atlanta must win to extend the Finals; Golden State can finish the series with another road victory.

Monday’s first half gave neither team much room. Atlanta led 14–13 after the opening quarter, but Golden State held the Dream to eight points in the second and reached halftime ahead 25–22. Only 47 points separated the two score columns combined. The Valkyries had not built a comfortable cushion, but they had established that a difficult offensive half did not have to leave them trailing.

The third quarter changed the margin without changing the character of the game. Golden State won the period 21–18, taking a 46–40 lead into the fourth. Stokes helped provide the difference by making perimeter shots as well as protecting the interior. She finished five for six from the floor and three for four from three-point range, an efficient scoring line that mattered more because easy offense was scarce elsewhere.

Stokes accounted for half of Golden State’s six made threes. Atlanta also finished with six, so this was not a game decided by an overwhelming team advantage from beyond the arc. It was a game in which a small number of efficient scoring contributions helped the Valkyries survive their own misses while their defense placed a tighter limit on the Dream’s offense.

Burton’s evening illustrated that balance. She made five of 15 field-goal attempts and one of six threes, but she contributed in several other areas while playing more than 37 minutes. Her eight rebounds and four blocks gave Golden State activity beyond its frontcourt. Stokes and Burton together supplied seven of the team’s nine blocks, making interior finishes difficult even when Atlanta reached a position to attempt them.

Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 20 points, making seven of 15 shots and three of eight threes. Jordin Canada scored 12 and distributed five assists, while Allisha Gray added 10 points. Atlanta had enough individual scoring to remain close, but too many other attempts ended without a basket. The Dream’s final total left little protection against even a modest Golden State run.

Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Her rebounding continued to create work for Golden State, and Atlanta collected 12 offensive rebounds to the Valkyries’ five. Yet the extra opportunities did not solve the finishing problem. Reese made two of eight shots, while Naz Hillmon went one for five despite collecting 11 rebounds. Atlanta’s work on the glass did not become a comparable advantage on the scoreboard.

That distinction is central to the Dream’s position entering Game 6. Rebounding can extend a possession, but the extension still needs a productive ending. Atlanta attempted four more field goals than Golden State and made five fewer. Its 11 made free throws exceeded the Valkyries’ 10 by one, leaving the Dream without a large enough benefit at the line to recover what it lost from the floor.

Hayes and Zandalasini supplied important support for Golden State. Hayes scored her 12 points on four-for-nine shooting and made all four of her free throws. Zandalasini went five for 10 overall. Their combined 24 points reduced the scoring burden on Stokes and Burton, and gave the Valkyries enough offense to close a game in which neither side shot especially well from long range.

Golden State scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and held Atlanta to 15, preserving control without needing an offensive explosion. The result left the Dream with a clear immediate requirement: turn more of their rebounding and possession work into actual scoring while preventing another balanced Golden State supporting effort. A repeat of Monday’s 55-point output would leave very little room for error.

The series now returns to Atlanta with the championship available to one team and elimination confronting the other. For Golden State, Monday demonstrated that Stokes’ efficiency and Burton’s defensive range can carry considerable weight even in a low-scoring game. For the Dream, Thursday’s unusual late-morning Chicago tipoff begins the effort to force one more game, with the next result determining whether that opportunity exists at all.