WNBA: Dream use second-half rout of Valkyries to take 2-1 Finals lead

ATLANTA -- Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream cruise to a 97-71 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday night, giving them a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.

Rhyne Howard added 16 points and Naz Hillmon scored 15 for the fourth-seeded Dream, who outscored Golden State 51-31 in the second half to secure their first home win in the Finals.

Isobel Borlase chipped in 12 points, while Jordin Canada finished with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds as Atlanta won its second straight game in the best-of-seven series.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points while shooting 5-for-18 from the floor. Tiffany Hayes added 14 points, while Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini scored 13 apiece. Kiah Stokes grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds for the second-seeded Valkyries, who never led.

Trailing by six at halftime, Golden State opened the second half with an 8-2 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by Zandalasini, to tie the score at 48 with 8:52 remaining in the third quarter.

The Dream responded with eight straight points to take a 57-49 lead at the 5:25 mark of the third.

A 3-pointer by DeWanna Bonner and a layup by Hillmon bookended a 12-2 run to close the third quarter and give Atlanta a 71-57 advantage.

Golden State's Veronica Burton made a 3-pointer for her only field goal of the night, but Howard answered with five points during the Dream's ensuing seven-point run to extend the lead to 20.

Golden State missed its first eight shots from the floor and did not score until the 5:07 mark of the first quarter, when Kaila Charles split a pair of free throws to cut the visitors' deficit to 6-1.

Hillmon drilled consecutive 3-pointers to give Atlanta a nine-point lead before Reese hit a triple to make it 22-12. The Dream led 23-15 entering the second quarter.

After Canada made a layup to cap an 8-0 Atlanta run, Salaun connected from beyond the arc to spark an 11-4 spurt that pulled the Valkyries within five with 3:16 remaining in the first half.

Reese's 15 first-half points led Atlanta, which took a 46-40 lead into halftime.

--Jack Batten, Field Level Media/Reuters