Natalie Nakase's Lineup Change Holds Angel Reese to 2-of-12 as the Valkyries Tie the WNBA Finals 2-2

Photo: WNBA.com. Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream forward, official WNBA headshot.

Golden State beat Atlanta 67-62 in Game 4 at State Farm Arena on Saturday, and Angel Reese finished with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting after three straight Finals double-doubles. Natalie Nakase started Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles in place of Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini, the Valkyries cut their turnovers to nine, and the series is now a best-of-three.

The change at the top of the sheet

Zandalasini started 34 of the 37 regular-season games she played, per the San Francisco Standard, and Charles had started 11 games all year and none in the playoffs. After a 97-71 loss in Game 3, Nakase put Charles and Hayes, a 14th-year veteran, on the floor for the opening tip anyway.

Golden State opened on a 12-0 run in the first quarter and led 16-11 after one. Charles scored five in the first quarter, grabbed three offensive rebounds for the game and finished plus-14 in under 29 minutes. Zandalasini came off the bench and scored 10 in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting with three steals, and her plus-20 was the best mark on either roster.

Hayes picked up early fouls and went scoreless in the first half. She scored all 13 of her points after halftime, seven of them in the fourth quarter.

What happened to Reese

Reese put up 30 and 16 in Game 2, the Dream's first Finals win in franchise history, and followed with 21 and 12 in the Game 3 rout. Saturday she was scoreless in the first quarter and did not make a field goal until the second.

The Valkyries collapsed on her every time she caught the ball in the paint and leaned on a 2-3 zone, per the Standard, which made the other four Dream players beat them. Kiah Stokes did most of the work behind it. Her 16 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass, gave Golden State extra possessions, and her Finals blocks total reached 14, a WNBA record for a Finals series, per the AP and the team. The old record was 12. The team also says Game 4 was her seventh playoff game with three or more blocks, another league record.

Reese's line ended at 2-of-12, 4-of-6 at the line, nine rebounds and six turnovers in 34 minutes. The Valkyries scored seven fast-break points in the first half and Atlanta scored none, per the team.

Nine turnovers, after three games over 17

Golden State committed 8, 18 and 15 turnovers in the first three games, per the CBS Sports box scores, and Atlanta turned Golden State's 17 team turnovers into 22 points in Game 3. On Saturday the Valkyries had nine. Atlanta finished with 17 turnovers, per the official box score, and Golden State won the points-off-turnovers column 16-8.

The Valkyries shot 26-of-72 (36.1 percent) and 4-of-25 from three. Gabby Williams led them with 17 points on 7-of-21. Veronica Burton scored 13 on 4-of-17, but she handed out five assists in 38 minutes and did not turn the ball over once. Golden State took 72 shots to Atlanta's 54.

The Dream shot 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) and 4-of-23 from three. They scored 26 points in the first half, and Golden State's 26-15 second quarter, closed by a 14-2 burst in the last three minutes, built the 42-26 halftime lead. The lead reached 16, Golden State's largest of the series, per the team.

How Atlanta got back into it

The Dream outscored Golden State 36-25 in the second half, and they did it with guards and free throws. Rhyne Howard led all scorers with 19 on 6-of-14 and drew an and-one late that made it a four-point game. Jordin Canada and rookie Isobel Borlase scored 10 apiece, and Borlase's three capped a 14-4 run in the third quarter that cut the lead to six.

Atlanta went 22-of-31 from the line. Golden State committed 26 fouls to Atlanta's 19, and four Valkyries finished with four or more. In Game 2, Atlanta went 30-of-35 at the line.

The last 30 seconds went to the defense. Down four, the Dream got two looks from three and missed both, and Golden State left Atlanta with a 2-2 series.

Where the series sits

The Valkyries are in the Finals in their second season. Before this series, Atlanta had never won a Finals game. The Dream lost 68-64 in Game 1, which made the franchise 0-10 all-time in Finals games, then won the next two. Saturday's loss makes the Dream 2-11 all-time in the Finals, and the Dream need two wins in the last three games for a first title.

Golden State gets Game 5 at Chase Center. The Valkyries went 17-5 at home in the regular season and sold out every home game. Game 6 would return to Atlanta.

This also came on the same day the league named its All-WNBA teams. Reese and Howard made the Second Team. No Valkyrie made either team. Reese and Howard combined to shoot 8-of-26 from the field, in front of 17,099 at State Farm Arena.

Game 5 is Monday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center, with the series tied 2-2.

Sources: WNBA.com official box score and game summary, Valkyries vs. Dream, Game 4, Oct. 24, 2026. Golden State Valkyries game recap, Oct. 24, 2026 (valkyries.wnba.com). Associated Press, "Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 67-62 to even the WNBA Finals at 2-2," Oct. 24, 2026. San Francisco Standard (Jane Kenny and Kerry Crowley), "The Valkyries punch back," Oct. 24, 2026. WNBA.com Finals Game 4 live blog, Oct. 24, 2026. WNBA official announcement of 2026 All-WNBA teams, Oct. 24, 2026. Earlier Dyme Takes on Finals Games 1, 2 and 3 (WNBA.com and AP box scores), and the Valkyries' 2026 home attendance release.

Correction, Oct 26, 2026: An earlier version of this post said Golden State committed more than 17 turnovers in each of the first three games. Per the CBS Sports box scores, the Valkyries committed 8, 18 and 15.