The Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries exchanged buckets in the first quarter until Angel Reese took it upon herself to answer the Valkyries’ smothering defense. With just over three minutes remaining in the quarter, Kaitlin Chen made a 3-pointer, and the Valkyries took a 14-11 lead. But that was it. The Valkyries didn’t convert a shot in the remaining minutes of the quarter. 

For the next three minutes, Reese became the highlight of the game, scoring nine of her team’s 11 points, including six back-to-back. She didn’t miss a shot attempt, barring a free throw. The Atlanta star finished the quarter with 11 points, having scored half of Atlanta’s points in the period, and added her name to a rare list of elite players. 

“Angel Reese is the fifth player in WNBA history to score at least 11 points while shooting better than 80% in the opening quarter of a WNBA Finals game,” WNBA Communications wrote on X. “Breanna Stewart was the last player to accomplish this milestone.”

Unfortunately, Reese couldn’t carry forward her same dominance in the next three quarters. To put it bluntly, she was almost absent from the offense for the rest of the game. 

The Valkyries’ defense responded and targeted Reese in the following quarter. Result? The Defensive Player of the Year scored three points, all of them coming from free throws. Reese then went scoreless in the second half. The Dream star finished the game with 14 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the field.

Angel Reese takes blame for Atlanta’s loss in Game 1, vows to be better in Game 2 

Reese missed all of her five attempts for the rest of the game. However, it wasn’t Reese’s poor shooting that became concerning for Atlanta. She attempted six shots in just 8 minutes she played in the opening quarter, but in the next 27 minutes, she attempted just five shots.

The Valkyries threw defense at her after the first quarter, but Reese was barely aggressive herself through the rest of the game.

“I don’t think they really did anything,” she told reporters. “Maybe that was just on me. I wasn’t aggressive enough with the ball and trying to get to the ball and get to my spots.”

Reese knew of her advantage in the paint, and she was demanding the ball in the first quarter. Sidelining herself when her team needed contribution from her cost the Dream Game 1. 

“Definitely going to do a better job of that next game,” Reese added.

The Dream had a lead for 79% of the game, and yet they ended up losing because they folded when it mattered the most. They had a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but were held to just 8 points in the last 10 minutes for a 68-64 loss. 

However, deflecting blame on Reese, or her shouldering it, shouldn’t erase the criticism that her teammates also deserve.

Karl Smesko reveals the real reason behind the Atlanta Dream’s loss

While Reese can shoulder it and protect her teammates from criticism, the head coach was blunt in his assessment. He told reporters that hero ball was one of the reasons that the Dream lost the game.

“I just think in the second half, in particular, we didn’t move the ball well enough,” Smesko said. “Like we did a little bit too much one-on-one instead of getting into actions. Angel had a great first half. We didn’t get her the ball enough. Those will be some things that we talk about for Game 2.”

As The Athletic’s writer, Sabreena Merchant, noted before Game 1, Valkyries didn’t have a player like Angel Reese who demanded the ball when the Dream needed the basket. There were times when the reigning DPOY positioned herself against smaller defenders in the paint and demanded the ball, but Atlanta failed to send the pass across (not to take anything away from the Valkyries’ disruptive defense).

Both teams were able to make runs in the game, forcing the contest to be decided in the fourth quarter. Rather than setting up their offense and finding a mismatch, the Dream rushed their shots. Yes, no shot is easy against the Valkyries’ defense, but it would have given them better looks.

Both teams shot poorly from the field, and Atlanta could have taken Game 1 on the road with better decision-making. Allisha Gray, who returned after missing Games 2 & 3 of the semifinals, shot 5-of-19 from the field and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. Rhyne Howard shot 3-of-14 from the field. Atlanta shot 4-of-25 from the 3-point line. The stat sheet is evidence of their poor decision-making.