Valkyries hosts Atlanta to start WNBA Finals

Atlanta Dream (30-14, 15-5 Eastern Conference) at Golden State Valkyries (32-12, 15-8 Western Conference)

San Francisco; Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Valkyries -2.5; over/under is 154.5

WNBA FINALS: Valkyries host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The Golden State Valkyries host the Atlanta Dream to start the WNBA Finals. Golden State went 3-0 against Atlanta during the regular season. The Valkyries won the last regular season meeting 88-83 on July 4. Veronica Burton led the Valkyries with 21 points, and Allisha Gray led the Dream with 22 points.

The Valkyries are 17-5 on their home court. Golden State is 3-3 in one-possession games.

The Dream are 15-7 on the road. Atlanta ranks ninth in the WNBA with 25.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Angel Reese averaging 7.3.

Golden State is shooting 42.2% from the field this season, 4.7 percentage points lower than the 46.9% Atlanta allows to opponents. Atlanta averages 16.2 more points per game (91.3) than Golden State gives up (75.1).

TOP PERFORMERS: Burton is averaging 12.2 points, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals for the Valkyries. Gabby Williams is averaging 16.7 points over the last 10 games.

Reese is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 12.1 rebounds for the Dream. Rhyne Howard is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Valkyries: 8-2, averaging 83.2 points, 37.6 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 40.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.7 points per game.

Dream: 10-0, averaging 93.9 points, 34.1 rebounds, 22.1 assists, 10.1 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.5 points.

INJURIES: Valkyries: Iliana Rupert: out for season (pregnancy).

Dream: Brionna Jones: out for season (leg), Allisha Gray: day to day (hand).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.