Valkyries vs Dream: Atlanta Leads Golden State 32-15 After One Quarter in WNBA Finals Game 6

Atlanta is playing like a team that refuses to end its season at lunchtime. The Dream opened Game 6 of the WNBA Finals with a 32-15 first quarter over the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday at State Farm Arena, according to the live Sportradar listing read by this desk - the kind of start Atlanta needed with its season on the line.

The stakes are as simple as a Finals gets. Golden State leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and is one win from a first championship in the franchise's second season. Atlanta must win Thursday to force a Game 7, which would be played Saturday, October 31, at Golden State. The series has swung hard both ways: the Valkyries took Game 1, 68-64, and the last two games, 67-62 and 64-55, around Atlanta's wins in Games 2 and 3, the second of them a 97-71 rout.

The early numbers belong to the home team. Allisha Gray scored 8 points in the first quarter, Jordin Canada 7 and Rhyne Howard 6, with Naz Hillmon adding 5, per the live listing. Angel Reese, whose 30-point, 16-rebound Game 2 and third straight double-double in Game 3 carried Atlanta earlier in the series, opened with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the quarter.

Thursday's game is a matinee for a scheduling reason that has become part of the story. Tip-off was moved up to 12:30 p.m. Eastern from its original 8 p.m. slot because the Atlanta Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena on Thursday night, and NBA rules require at least 22 hours between games, according to reporting by The Columbus Dispatch and NorthJersey. The Dream, who normally play at the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena, said in a letter to fans that they raised the conflict two months ago; the game at the roughly 17,000-seat State Farm Arena is sold out. This is a live file and claims no final result; the Sports Desk will file the result after the final buzzer.