SAN FRANCISCO — The energy at Ballhalla was already fading when Jordin Canada called bank.

With five seconds left in the third quarter Monday night, Canada collected Veronica Burton’s missed three-pointer, dribbled past Kaila Charles and slivered into space, crossing half court with 1.6 seconds remaining. The Dream had already doubled up the Valkyries in the period, a game-deciding run that paved the way for Atlanta to tie the WNBA Finals at 1-1.

But Canada wanted the dagger.

As the quarter’s final moments evaporated, Canada collected the rock and fired a last-second heave, both feet touching the Valkyries’ logo. First, glass. Then, nylon.

Canada’s 32-foot buzzer-beater was the exclamation mark on Atlanta’s dominant 21-9 third quarter, one they ended on an 18-4 run that paved the way for the Dream’s first Finals win in franchise history.

“We just got back to our identity about who we are and kept our foot on the pedal,” said center Angel Reese, who finished with 30 points and 16 rebounds, after Golden State’s 79-65 loss. “We didn’t let up, and everybody was on the same page. We had each other’s back.”

Despite the 14-point margin of defeat, Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair for the first half and much of the third quarter. Golden State led 21-18 through the first period, but Atlanta went into the break with a slim 39-37 advantage after DeWanna Bonner hit a jumper right before the buzzer.

The Valkyries and Dream remained close in the third’s opening minutes, both teams struggling to find a rhythm. Reese converted an and-one midway through the third, but Kaitlin Chen’s bucket about a minute later brought the score to 45-44 in Atlanta’s favor with 3:52 remaining. Then, the avalanche.

Following Chen’s bucket, Atlanta rattled off eight unanswered points before Burton hit a layup with 46 seconds left in the third. Burton’s bucket couldn’t stop the Dream, who responded with eight more unanswered points capped off by Canada’s three-pointer. Golden State’s one-point deficit ballooned to 14 by the end of the third and as high as 21 in the fourth.

For Burton and Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase, the genesis of Atlanta’s third-quarter run was turnovers. Of their season-high 18 turnovers, the Valkyries coughed up the ball eight times in the third. And of those eight third-quarter turnovers, four were in the final three minutes. Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard terrorized Golden State in the third, picking up three of her WNBA Finals-record six steals during the period.

“I genuinely believed [turnovers] dictated the entire game when they can get more looks than we do,” Burton said. “And then, they outhustled us on some plays. They made more energy plays, and that’s what we hang our hats on. So, can’t happen. Especially not in the Finals.”

“It’s frustrating, right?” Nakase said when asked about Golden State’s hustle. “That’s been part of our identity. Because our identity is defense, we hang our hats on that end. I need to have some conversations. I need to listen within the next 48 hours to see how I didn’t deliver my message about our game plan, our fight, our physicality.”

Along with the turnovers, Reese continued to assert her will on offense, scoring nine of her 30 points in the third. Reese was quiet in the opening minutes of the period, her only attempt in the first five minutes being blocked by center Kiah Stokes.

Atlanta’s star went four minutes without a shot attempt and could be seen talking to the bench, presumably about her involvement in the offense. Beginning with a layup with 4:49 remaining in the third, Reese finished the quarter by converting a pair of layups and sinking five free throws.

“I’m not going to tell you exactly what I said,” said Reese, the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year. “But, like I said, I think I let the team down last game by only getting two shot attempts [in the second half]. That was on me. I wasn’t aggressive enough. I said that it wasn’t anything that they did; it was just me.”