The Golden State Valkyries defended dwelling courtroom on Monday to assert a 3-2 collection lead within the WNBA Finals over the Atlanta Dream.
Beneath, we break down the low-scoring 64-55 win with three immediate Sport 5 takeaways.
Valkyries journey protection to maneuver a win away from first WNBA title
Golden State’s total identification is constructed on taking part in suffocating protection, and it was masterful on that finish to take command of the collection.
As ESPN WNBA insider Alexa Philippou famous on-line, the Dream shot a season-low 29.2 p.c within the loss. Per Stathead, Atlanta’s 55 factors have been its fewest in 14 WNBA Finals video games.
The Valkyries led the league in defensive ranking throughout the common season, per Basketball Reference, and has ranked first in factors allowed in every of their first two seasons as a WNBA franchise. That defense-philosophy paid off in an enormous approach on Monday, placing the Dream on the point of elimination.
Kiah Stokes constructing case as collection MVP
If Golden State finishes the job, Stokes, a three-time WNBA champion in her eleventh season, has an awesome case to be named collection MVP.
She was the Valkyries’ greatest participant in Sport 5, ending with 13 factors on 5-of-6 capturing, together with 3-of-4 from past the arc, eight rebounds and three blocks in 35 minutes, the second-longest outing of her playoff profession.
Whereas hardly ever an offensive focus — Stokes averaged 3.8 factors in Video games 1-4 — the longtime veteran has been a defensive power all through the collection, blocking at the very least three pictures in every recreation and averaging 10.6 rebounds per recreation. In Game 4, she restricted Dream ahead Angel Reese to 2-of-10 capturing as her main defender.
“We actually depend on our protection,” Stokes stated on the courtroom afterward. One in every of two main offseason additions alongside ahead Gabby Williams, Stokes has been an integral a part of Golden State’s rise to the precipice of a league championship. If she’s as huge think about a Sport 6 win, Stokes deserves to be singled out as Finals MVP.
League’s worst-case state of affairs may come to fruition
The WNBA controversially decided to maneuver Sport 6 to Thursday afternoon, that means Golden State followers within the Bay Space can be tuning in for a 9:30 a.m. native time tip off because the Valkyries look to assert their first league championship.
If that is not unlucky sufficient, ESPN NBA insider Ramon Shelburne famous on “NBA In the present day” {that a} potential trophy presentation could possibly be moved to a follow courtroom so crew can prepare for an evening recreation between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
To Golden State’s credit score, Stokes shot down any noise surrounding the scheduling snafu, including throughout her post-game on-court interview, “It do not matter what time we play. All we’d like is 2 hoops, 94 ft and one another.”
