Yahoo Sports Staff Updated Mon, October 26, 2026 at 11:30 PM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story The Golden State Valkyries halted what appeared to be significant momentum for the Atlanta Dream toward their first championship by winning Game 4 to even up the WNBA Finals .
Tied at 2-2, the Finals now becomes a best-of-three series with two of those games on the Valkyries' home court at Chase Center in San Francisco, beginning with Monday's pivotal Game 5 .
A key factor for Golden State in Game 4 was controlling Angel Reese. After recording double-doubles in each of the series' first three games, the Dream forward was held to 8 points and 9 rebounds with 6 turnovers. How she responds to that, and tough defense by the Valkyries' Kiah Stokes, could determine Atlanta's success for the next two to three games.
On the other side, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase changed the starting lineup for Game 4, swapping Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles for Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini. Considering the tighter defense and increased pace created, Golden State will probably stick with that for Game 5. Meanwhile, Atlanta will try to find an answer for defending Gabby Williams (averaging 18 points per game).
Game 5 of the 2026 WNBA Finals between the Dream and Valkyries will begin Monday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC , also streaming on Peacock.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, news and highlights from Game 5 of the WNBA Finals:
Moneyline odds: Valkyries -112, Dream -104
For Game 5 of this series tied 2-2, the Dream head back to Golden State for another game in "Ballhalla." A large story of the finals has been the hand injury that Dream point guard Allisha Gray is playing through. She left Game 4 briefly due to the hand injury again, and a cross-country flight can't be good for the swelling.
The defense from both teams has also been stellar. Combined with the low scoring and decreased efficiency due to an injury, I am targeting an under for Gray on her points plus assists combination bet. Gray's potential assists have dropped 1.4 this series graded against her games earlier these playoffs, and her scoring has dropped every game as well. She scored eight and five points, respectively in the past two games.
Check out the rest of our favorite bets for tonight's sports equinox!
After days of deliberation, the WNBA has finally determined where and when Game 6 of the Finals will be played. The league announced Monday the contest will be held at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at State Farm Arena.
The decision comes after it was reported Sunday the league was unclear about both the time and place in which the game would be played, and was working with the Atlanta Dream, Golden State Valkyries, NBA and the Atlanta Hawks to come up with a solution.
In order to accommodate Thursday's game, the league opted to move it to earlier in the day. That decision allows both the Dream and Hawks to play home games at State Farm Arena on Thursday.
In a statement, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league saw the success of Games 3 and 4 and wanted to host Game 6 in the same arena.
"The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we're excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta."
Source: Sports
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