Following a dominant Game 3 performance in the WNBA Finals, Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese wanted all the smoke.
After posting 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 97-71 win at State Farm Arena, Reese taunted Golden State players with a “too small” gesture. Atlanta had a 2-1 series lead, and Reese had combined for 51 points and 28 rebounds in consecutive victories.
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By the end of Game 3, Reese had become the odds-on betting favorite to win Finals MVP.
Two games later, it’s Reese who looks small.
The 24-year-old forward combined for 15 points on 4-for-20 shooting in Games 4 and 5, both Atlanta losses. She committed nine turnovers, more than twice her four made field goals. What had been a 2-1 series advantage is now a 3-2 deficit, leaving Reese and the Dream one loss from elimination.
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Her tone has changed, too. After explaining how she was getting into Golden State’s head, Reese is now complaining about the whistle.
During Friday’s media availability before Game 4, Reese sounded like a player who believed she had the Valkyries figured out.
“They’re playing into my mental game where I can take their confidence and just try to do whatever to mess them up,” Reese said.
She wasn’t done.
“I’m really confident within myself. Everybody knows that,” Reese said.
At the time, she had the performances to back it up. Reese scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Game 2, then followed with another double-double in Game 3. Atlanta won those games by a combined 40 points.
Then Reese and Atlanta got a harsh reminder that Golden State reached the WNBA Finals for a reason.
Reese scored eight points on 2-for-12 shooting in Saturday’s 67-62 loss at State Farm Arena. She missed her first five shots of the fourth quarter and committed her sixth turnover on Atlanta’s final possession.
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Afterward, she acknowledged that her finishing had been a problem.
“I didn’t take my time finishing around the basket like I’ve been doing in the last two games,” Reese said.
She added that “it happens” and promised, “I’ll just be better.”
But Reese didn’t play much better in Game 5.
She finished with seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in Golden State’s 64-55 Game 5 victory at Chase Center. Reese once again had more turnovers (3) than made field goals (2), although she did grab 15 rebounds and dish out five assists.
Before Game 5, Reese drew attention for arriving at Chase Center in a “Protect Black Women” shirt.
After the game, Reese was less interested in saying that she should “be better.” Instead, she directed her frustration toward the referees.
“A lot of us are getting fouled, and they’re not calling it,” she said.
Reese said the officiating had changed after Atlanta took its 2-1 series lead. She pointed to an uncalled grab by Gabby Williams in Game 4 and complained about being whistled for offensive fouls after defenders pushed her first.
“It definitely took a big turn,” Reese said.
Her coach backed her up.
“The contact they allow on Angel compared to everybody else is just ridiculous. Just ridiculous,” Karl Smesko said.
Smesko argued that contact on Reese alone should have sent Atlanta to the foul line six to eight more times. He also complained about missed traveling and double-dribble violations, while acknowledging that Atlanta was missing shots it should make.
There were calls worth questioning, including a play in which Veronica Burton’s arm hit Allisha Gray’s head as Gray drove to the basket, knocking off her goggles without a foul call.
But the free-throw numbers hardly tell the story of a series tilted toward Golden State.
Atlanta attempted 31 free throws to Golden State’s 13 in Game 4. The Dream missed nine of them in a five-point loss.
In Game 5, Atlanta again had more attempts, 14-13. Eight of Golden State’s 13 free throws came in the fourth quarter, all with the Valkyries leading.
Through five games, Atlanta’s advantage in free throw attempts was 130-78.
WNBA officiating has faced criticism throughout the season, so Reese and Smesko aren’t alone in questioning its consistency.
But no whistle changes Reese’s four made baskets in two games.
Reese won the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award this season. But in these Finals, it’s Kiah Stokes who is looking like the league’s best defender, especially when Reese is trying to score against her.
Stokes has blocked 17 shots through five games, already a WNBA Finals record. She has recorded at least three blocks in every game of the series, and her streak extends to six consecutive playoff games. Stokes tied Lisa Leslie’s 2003 record for the longest such run in a single postseason.
Reese has had 11 of her 59 shot attempts blocked through five games, including eight by Stokes. Those Valkyries blocks account for exactly one-third of Reese’s 33 missed shots.
Golden State’s center followed her 16-rebound, three-block Game 4 with 13 points, eight rebounds and three more blocks Monday. She made three three-pointers in Game 5, one more than Reese’s total field goals.
Across Atlanta’s two losses, Stokes blocked six shots while Reese made four.
Angel Reese was happy to tell Golden State how difficult she was to defend when Atlanta was winning. The Valkyries have since made her prove it, and she hasn’t delivered offensively.
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Game 6 is Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena, with Atlanta needing a win to force a deciding game in San Francisco.
Reese wants to be known as one of the best players in the WNBA, and those players are the ones who show up when the spotlight shines brightest.
After Game 3, she was asked about joining the ranks of Atlanta’s sports greats. Reese said she had only been in the city six months, but explained how she measures greatness.
“I think you become one of the greats … when you can win and impact winning,” Reese said.
She did that in Games 2 and 3. But her last two performances aren’t going to convince anyone that she belongs in that conversation right now.