Valkyries beat the Dream 67-62 in Atlanta to tie the WNBA Finals 2-2

With 9.8 seconds left and Atlanta down five, Angel Reese threw a pass, and Veronica Burton took the ball away. That was the end of the Dream's comeback, and the Golden State Valkyries had a 67-62 win in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday at State Farm Arena.

The series is tied 2-2. The Dream had been 4-0 at home in these playoffs. Now it is a best-of-three, and two of those games would be in San Francisco.

This follows the Game 4 preview, when Atlanta had won two straight by 14 and 26 and were one win from going up 3-1.

Golden State take over early

Atlanta led 7-2 midway through the first quarter. Then Golden State scored 12 straight points, and Cecilia Zandalasini finished the run with a three for a 14-7 lead. The Valkyries led for the rest of the game.

The first half was all Golden State. Atlanta turned the ball over 14 times before halftime, and the Valkyries took 40 shots to the Dream's 19. The lead reached 16 at 38-22 with 1:38 left in the second quarter, and it was 42-26 at the break.

Gabby Williams had 11 of her 17 points in the first half. She did not make a three all game, 0 for 6, and still led the Valkyries in scoring.

"That motivated me to set the tempo today and start off the game with a lot of aggressiveness," Williams said.

The Dream come back

Atlanta won the second half 36-25. They cut it to 54-45 after three quarters and kept coming.

Tiffany Hayes kept answering. She scored all 13 of her points after halftime, seven of them in the fourth quarter, the last a floater for 61-51 with 5:28 left. Burton then hit a step-back three for 64-55.

Rhyne Howard scored 11 of her game-high 19 in the fourth. Reese's layup made it 64-59 with 1:36 left. Burton answered with a jumper for 66-59 at 34.6 seconds. Howard scored on a drive and made the free throw for 66-62 with 28.7 left, and Burton made one of two at the other end for the final margin. Then came her steal.

Burton finished with 13 points, five assists, three steals and two blocks.

Reese held to 2 of 12

Reese had 8 points on 2-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds and six turnovers. Golden State's Kiah Stokes had 4 points, 16 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass, and three blocks.

"I think it was just me. I rushed my shots," Reese said. "I didn't take my time and finish around the basket like I've been doing the last two games."

The Dream went to the line far more often, 22 of 31 against Golden State's 11 of 13. It did not make up for 17 turnovers and 18 fewer shots. Both teams made 4 threes, Atlanta on 23 tries and Golden State on 25.

Jordin Canada and Isobel Borlase scored 10 each for Atlanta. Zandalasini had 10 off the bench for Golden State, and the Valkyries outscored the Dream by 20 with her on the floor.

"The one thing I told the team after the last game was the goal when we play on the road is to steal one on the road," Stokes said. "Now it's a best-of-three series."

Scoring

Scoring: Golden State 67-62 Atlanta (Game 4, Saturday)

Golden State: Gabby Williams 17, Tiffany Hayes 13, Veronica Burton 13, Cecilia Zandalasini 10, Kaila Charles 5, Kiah Stokes 4, Kayla Thornton 3, Janelle Salaün 2, Kaitlyn Chen 0.

Atlanta: Rhyne Howard 19, Jordin Canada 10, Isobel Borlase 10, Angel Reese 8, Naz Hillmon 6, Allisha Gray 5, DeWanna Bonner 4, Madina Okot 0, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 0.

By quarter: Golden State 16, 26, 12, 13. Atlanta 11, 15, 19, 17.

What is next

Game 5 is on Monday, October 26, at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco. Game 6 would be in Atlanta on Thursday, and a Game 7 back in San Francisco. The winner of Monday's game will be one win from the title.